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Village  Life  in  China 


TENTH  THOUSAND 

Chi  nese  Characteristics 


BY 

Reo.  ARTHUR  H.  SMITH,  D.D. 

For  Twenty-six  Years  a Missionary  of  the  American  Board  in  China. 
With  Sixteen  Illustrations  from  Photographs,  an  Index  and  a Glossary. 

800,  decorated  cloth,  $1.25 


From  The  Independent. 

THERE  is  no  glamour  thrown  over  the  race,  neither  is  there  failure  to  recognize 
1 those  qualities  that  have  made  them  so  backward  in  civilization,  so  hostile  to 
foreigners,  so  repugnant  to  many  in  our  land.  Everyone  interested  in  China  or 
the  Chinese  should  read  the  book. 

From  The  New  York  Times. 

IF  we  are  not  to  accept  the  studies  that  missionaries  have  made  of  the  Chinese,  ■ 
* whose  are  we  to  accept?  We  do  not  mean  the  accounts  of  the  seminary 
young  man  who,  fresh  from  his  studies,  lives  in  China  for  a six-month,  and  then 
writes  of  his  experiences,  but  of  the  men  like  the  author  of  this  volume,  who 
has  had  a residence  of  twenty-two  years  in  China. 

Mr.  Smith’s  volume  is  a highly  entertaining  one,  showing  uncommon  shrewd- 
ness, with  keen  analysis  of  character. 

From  The  Critic. 

THERE  is  all  the  difference  between  an  intaglio  in  onyx  and  a pencil  scrawl  on 
paper  to  be  discovered  between  Mr.  Smith's  book  and  the  printed  prattle  of 
the  average  globe-trotter.  Our  author's  work  has  been  done,  as  it  were,  with  a 
chisel  and  an  emery  wheel.  He  goes  deeply  beneath  the  surface. 

From  The  Standard. 

IT  is  much  the  most  interesting  book  upon  China  which  we  have  ever  read,  and 
it  is  specially  valuable  as  a practical  commentary  upon  the  national  and  social 
institutions  of  the  Chinese,  the  natural  effect  of  their  long  isolation,  and  the 
benumbing  effect  of  such  a religion  as  has  in  great  part  made  them  what  they  are. 

From  The  Living  Church. 

THAT  this  is  the  most  valuable  account  of  the  Chinese  ever  written  is,  we 
believe,  generally  acknowledged. 

From  The  Missionary  Review  of  the  World. 

EVERY  chapter  is  a thesaurus  of  startling  antithesis,  humorous  portraitures, 
acute  observation  and  marvelous  sagacity.  . . . The  book  is  most 

delightful  reading,  and  will  be  found  most  fascinating.  It  is  a mirror  of  Chinese 
characteristics,  as  its  name  indicates.  Within  its  pages  we  have  found  a volume 
of  aphorisms  and  sage  sayings  seldom  embraced  in  such  a book. — Rev.  eA.  T. 
Tierson,  D.D. 


FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 

New  York:  158  Fifth  Avenue  Chicago:  63  Washington  Street 

Toronto:  154  Yonge  Street 


Chinese  Villagers  at  Home. 


Village  Life  in  China 


A STUDY  IN  SOCIOLOGY 


ARTHUR  H.  SMITH,  D.  D. 

AUTHOR  OF 

“Chinese  Characteristics” 


WITH  ILLUSTRATIONS 


New  York  Chicago  Toronto 

Fleming  H.  Revell  Company 

Publishers  of  Evangelical  Literature 


Copyright,  1899 
by 

FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


Foreword 


HESE  chapters  are  written  from  the  standpoint  of  one 


who,  by  an  extended  experience  in  China,  has  come  to  feel 
a profound  respect  for  the  numerous  admirable  qualities  of  the 
Chinese,  and  to  entertain  for  many  of  them  a high  personal  es- 
teem. An  unexampled  past  lies  behind  this  great  race,  and  be- 
fore it  there  may  lie  a wonderful  future.  Ere  that  can  be  real- 
ized, however,  there  are  many  disabilities  which  must  be  re- 
moved. The  longer  one  is  acquainted  with  China,  the  more 
deeply  is  this  necessity  felt.  Commerce,  diplomacy,  extension 
of  political  relations,  and  the  growing  contact  with  Occidental 
civilization  have,  all  combined,  proved  totally  inadequate  to  ac- 
complish any  such  reformation  as  China  needs. 

The  Chinese  village  is  the  empire  in  small,  and  when  that 
has  been  surveyed,  we  shall  be  in  a better  condition  to  suggest 
a remedy  for  whatever  needs  amendment.  It  cannot  be  too 
often  reiterated  that  the  variety  in  unity  in  China  is  such,  that 
affirmations  should  always  be  qualified  with  the  implied  limita- 
tion that  they  are  true  somewhere,  although  few  of  them  may 
hold  good  everywhere.  On  the  other  hand,  the  unity  in 
variety  is  such  that  a really  typical  Chinese  fact,  although  of 
restricted  occurrence,  may  not  on  that  account  be  the  less  val- 
uable. 

China  was  never  so  much  in  the  world’s  thought  as  to-day, 
nor  is  there  any  apparent  likelihood  that  the  position  of  this 
empire  will  be  less  conspicuous  at  the  opening  of  the  twentieth 
century.  Whatever  helps  to  a better  understanding  of  the 
Chinese  people,  is  an  aid  to  a comprehension  of  the  Chinese 
problem.  To  that  end  this  volume  is  intended  as  a humble 
contribution. 


5 


Acknowledgment. 


^TT'HE  author  desires  to  acknowledge  his  indebtedness  to 
the  Rev.  Harlan  P.  Beach  for  his  invaluable  criticisms 
and  the  kindly  services  rendered  in  the  proof-reading  and 
piloting  of  this  new  voyager  through  the  press. 

For  the  use  of  original  photographs  from  which  engrav- 
ings have  been  made,  and  are  here  published  for  the  first 
time,  the  author  and  the  publishers  desire  to  acknowledge 
their  obligations  to  Mr.  Robert  E.  Speer,  Mr.  William  Henry 
Grant,  Albert  Peck,  M.D.,  Rev.  W.  C.  Longden,  and  Miss 
J.  G.  Evans. 


6 


Contents 


PART  I— THE  VILLAGE,  ITS  INSTITUTIONS, 
USAGES,  AND  PUBLIC  CHARACTERS 

CHAPTER  PAGB 

Glossary 1 1 

I.  The  Chinese  Village 15 

II.  Construction  of  Villages . . 20 

III.  Village  Nomenclature 30 

IV.  Country  Roads 35 

V.  The  Village  Ferry 39 

VI.  Village  Wells 44 

VII.  The  Village  Shop 49 

VIII.  The  Village  Theatre 54 

IX.  Village  Schools  and  Travelling  Scholars  ....  70 

X.  Chinese  Higher  Education — The  Village  High 
School  — Examinations  — Recent  Educational 

Edicts 1 1 1 

XI.  Village  Temples  and  Religious  Societies 136 

XII.  Cooperation  in  Religious  Observances 141 

XIII.  Cooperation  in  Markets  and  Fairs 146 

XIV.  Cooperative  Loan  Societies 152 

XV.  Societies  for  Watching  the  Crops 161 

XVI.  Village  and  City  Rain-making 169 

XVII.  The  Village  Hunt 174 

XVIII.  Village  Weddings  and  Funerals 179 

XIX.  New  Year  in  Chinese  Villages 196 

XX.  The  Village  Bully 21 1 

XXI.  Village  Headmen 226 

PART  II— VILLAGE  FAMILY  LIFE 

XXII.  Village  Boys  and  Men 237 

XXIII.  Chinese  Country  Girls  and  Women 258 


7 


8 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

XXIV.  Monotony  and  Vacuity  of  Village  Life 312 

XXV.  Unstable  Equilibrium  of  The  Chinese  Family.  . . 317 

XXVI.  Instability  from  Family  Disunity 324 

PART  III.— REGENERATION  OF  THE  CHINESE 
VILLAGE 

XXVII.  What  can  Christianity  Do  for  China? 341 

Index 353 


List  of  Illustrations 


Chinese  Villagers  at  Home Frontispiece. 


Southern  Village  Scene 
A Detail — the  Village  Well 


Facing  page  16 


Sawyers  Preparing  Lumber 

Itinerant  Blacksmiths  Employed  by  Villagers 


The  Village  Cobbler  ) 
Village  Broom-Maker  ) 

Waiting  for  the  Boat! 
Crossing  the  Ferry  > 

Strings  of  Chinese  Cash  } 
Preparing  the  Strings  1 


Threshing  | 

An  Afternoon  Siesta  j 

The  World’s  Oldest  Sacred  Mountain,  T'ai  Shan 
Scenery  Along  the  River  Lin 


Going  to  Market 
Chinese  Market  Scene 

Crop-Watcher’s  Lodge 
Reaping  Millet 


148 


162 


9 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


A Bridal  Pair  } 

Temporary  Funeral  Pavilion  S 

Entrance  to  a Yamen  ) 
Chinese  Court  of  Justice  ) 

Chinese  Punch  and  Judy  ) 
The  Village  Story-Teller  > 

Women  Preparing  Food  ) 

On  the  Way  to  the  Feast  > 


Facing  page 


One  of  China’s  Parasites — a Beggar 

One  of  her  Sources  of  Strength — a Carpenter 


Little  Old  People 

Going  to  a Christian  School 


iSS 

218 

244 

262 

310 

342 


10 


Glossary 


Bov,  a term  used  by  foreigners  in  China  to  denote  the  head-servant,  ir- 
respective of  his  age. 

Cash,  Chinese  copper  coin  with  a square  hole  for  stringing.  The  value 
of  a single  cash  may  be  taken  as  one-thousandth  of  a Mexican  dol- 
lar. The  cash  vary  greatly  in  size.  A “ string  ” theoretically  con- 
sists of  a thousand  cash,  but  in  many  regions  has  but  five  hundred. 
The  latter  variety  is  at  present  equal  to  one-third  of  a gold  dollar. 

Catty,  a Chinese  pound,  equal  by  treaty  to  one  and  one-third  pounds 
avoirdupois. 

Chin-shih,  “ Entered  Scholar.”  The  third  literary  degree;  Doctor  in 
Literature. 

Chou,  a Sub  prefecture,  sometimes  with  Districts  under  it,  and  often 
without  them. 

ChC-jen,  “Selected  man.”  The  second  full  literary  degree;  a Master  of 
Arts. 

Compound,  an  enclosure  or  yard,  usually  containing  a number  of  build- 
ings belonging  to  a single  family  or  establishment. 

Feng-shui,  literally  “wind  and  water.”  A complicated  system  of 
geomantic  superstition,  by  which  the  good  luck  of  sites  and  buildings 
is  determined. 

Fu,  a Prefecture,  governed  by  a Prefect,  with  several  Districts  under  it. 

Han-lin,  “ Forest  of  Pencils.”  The  last  literary  degree,  entitling  to 
office. 

Hsien,  a District  or  Country,  governed  by  the  District  Magistrate. 

Hsiu-ts‘ai,  “Flourishing  Talent.”  The  lowest  of  the  several  literary  de- 
grees ; a Bachelor  of  Arts. 

K‘ANG,  a raised  platform  of  adobe  or  of  bricks,  used  as  a bed  and  heated 
by  means  of  flues. 

K‘0-T‘0U  or  Kotow,  the  act  of  prostration  and  striking  the  head  on  the 
ground  in  homage  or  worship. 

Li,  a Chinese  measure  of  length,  somewhat  more  than  three  of  which 
equal  an  English  mile. 

Squeeze,  a forced  contribution  exacted  by  those  through  whose  hands  the 
money  of  others  passes. 

Tzel,  a weight  of  money  equivalent  to  a sixteenth  of  a Chinese  pound ; an 
ounce. 

Tao-t‘ai,  an  officer  of  the  third  rank  who  is  intendant  of  a circuit. 

Ya-men,  the  office  and  residence  of  a Chinese  official. 

II 


PART  I 


The  Village,  Its  Institutions,  Usages  and  Public 
Characters 


I 


THE  CHINESE  VILLAGE 

^T'HERE  are  in  India  alone  over  half  a million  villages. 

In  all  Asia,  not  improbably,  there  may  be  four  times 
that  number.  By  far  the  larger  part  of  the  most  numerous 
people  on  the  globe  live  in  villages.  The  traveller  in  the 
Chinese  Empire  may  start  from  some  seaport,  as  Tientsin,  and 
journey  for  several  months  together  in  the  same  general  direc- 
tion, before  reaching  its  frontiers  on  the  other  side.  In  the 
course  of  such  a tour,  he  will  be  impressed  as  only  one  who  has 
ocular  evidence  can  be  impressed  with  the  inconceivably  great 
number  of  Chinese  altogether  outside  of  the  great  centres  of 
urban  population.  Contrary  to  the  current  notions  of  West- 
erners, the  number  of  great  cities  is  not,  relatively  to  the  whole 
population,  anything  like  so  large  in  China  as  in  Western  lands. 
Many  of  the  district  cities,  capitals  of  divisions  analogous  to 
what  we  call  counties,  are  merely  large  villages  with  a wall  and 
with  government  bureaus  called  yamens.  It  is  known  that  in 
India  three-fourths  of  the  population  are  rural.  In  China 
there  is  perhaps  no  reason  for  thinking  the  proportion  to  be 
less. 

On  such  a journey  as  we  have  supposed,  the  traveller  unac- 
quainted with  the  Chinese,  finds  himself  perpetually  inquiring 
of  himself : What  are  these  incomputable  millions  of  human 

beings  thinking  about  ? What  is  the  quality  of  the  life  which 
they  live  ? What  is  its  content  and  its  scope  ? 

Questions  like  these  cannot  be  answered  intelligently  without 
much  explanation.  The  conditions  and  environment  of 
Chinese  life  are  so  totally  unlike  those  to  which  we  are  accus- 

*5 


i6 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


tomed,  that  it  is  unsafe  to  take  anything  for  granted.  Amid 
certain  fundamental  unities  the  life  of  the  Chinese  is  full  of  be- 
wildering and  inexplicable  variety.  No  matter  how  long  one 
may  have  lived  in  China,  there  is  always  just  as  much  as  ever 
that  he  never  before  heard  of,  but  which  every  one  is  supposed 
to  have  known  by  intuition.  The  oldest  resident  is  a student 
like  the  rest. 

This  state  of  things  is  the  inevitable  result  of  the  antiquity  of 
Chinese  civilization,  as  well  as  of  the  enormous  scale  upon 
which  it  has  operated  to  produce  its  effects.  It  is  a sagacious 
remark  of  Mr.  A.  R.  Colquhoun1  that  “the  product  resulting 
from  duration  multiplied  by  numbers  must  be  immense,  and  if 
to  this  we  add  a third  factor,  isolation,  we  have  no  right  to  be 
surprised  either  at  the  complex  character  of  Chinese  civilization, 
or  at  its  peculiarly  conservative  form.”  For  this  reason  a con- 
nected and  orderly  account  of  the  phenomena  of  Chinese  life 
we  believe  to  be  a hopeless  impossibility.  It  would  require  the 
combined  information  of  all  the  residents  of  China  to  make  it 
complete,  to  coordinate  it  would  be  the  work  of  several  life- 
times, and  the  resultant  volumes  would  fill  the  Bodleian  library. 
The  only  practicable  way  to  extend  our  knowledge  of  so  oceanic 
a subject,  is  to  examine  in  more  or  less  detail  such  phenomena 
as  happen  to  have  come  within  our  restricted  horizon.  No 
two  persons  will  have  the  same  horizon,  and  no  horizon  will 
belt  a sphere. 

A good  way  to  see  what  is  happening  in  a building  would  be 
to  take  its  roof  off,  could  that  be  done  without  disturbing  its 
inmates.  If  we  wish  to  comprehend  the  Chinese,  we  must  take 

1 A consideration  of  the  important  crisis  through  which  the  Chinese 
Empire  is  passing  at  the  close  of  the  century,  does  not  fall  within  the 
scope  of  a work  like  the  present.  All  who  are  interested  in  that  subject 
should  not  omit  to  read  attentively  Mr.  Colquhoun’s  “ China  in  Trans- 
formation,” London  and  New  York,  1898,  embodying  the  matured  con- 
victions of  an  accomplished  traveller,  and  an  experienced  Oriental  admin- 
istrator, with  an  exceptional  first-hand  acquaintance  with  China. 


A Detail — The  Village  Well. 


THE  CHINESE  VILLAGE 


>7 


the  roof  from  their  homes,  in  order  to  learn  what  is  going  on 
within.  This  no  foreigner  can  do.  But  he  can  imitate  the 
Chinese  who  apply  a wet  finger  to  a paper  window,  so  that 
when  the  digit  is  withdrawn  there  remains  a tiny  hole,  through 
which  an  observant  eye  may  see  at  least  something.  The 
heterogeneous,  somewhat  disconnected,  very  unequally  elab- 
orated chapters  which  comprise  this  book,  have  this  in  com- 
mon, that  they  are  all  studies  of  the  phenomena  seen  at  a peep- 
hole into  the  actual  life  of  the  Chinese  people.  Any  one  who 
knows  enough  about  the  subject  to  be  entitled  to  have  an 
opinion,  cannot  help  perceiving  how  imperfect  and  inadequate 
they  are.  Yet  they  represent,  nevertheless,  realities  which  have 
a human  interest  of  their  own. 

The  traveller  in  China,  constantly  surrounded  by  countless 
towns  and  hamlets,  naturally  thirsts  to  know  in  a general  way 
the  population  of  the  region  which  he  is  traversing.  Should 
he  venture,  however,  to  ask  any  one  the  number  of  people  in  a 
city,  or  the  district  which  it  governs,  he  would  get  no  other  in- 
formation than  that  there  are  “ not  a few,”  or  “ who  knows?  ” 
Almost  any  intelligent  person  could  tell  approximately  how 
many  villages  there  are  in  his  own  county,  but  as  some  of  them 
are  large  and  some  small,  and  as  Chinese  like  other  Orientals 
care  absolutely  nothing  for  statistics  and  have  the  crudest  no- 
tion of  what  we  mean  by  an  average,  one  is  none  the  wiser  for 
their  information. 

It  appears  to  be  well  settled  that  no  real  dependence  can  be 
placed  upon  the  Chinese  official  returns,  yet  that  they  are  the 
only  basis  upon  which  rational  estimates  can  be  based,  and 
therefore  have  a certain  value.  So  far  as  we  are  aware,  efforts 
to  come  at  the  real  population  per  square  mile,  have  generally 
proceeded  from  such  extensive  units  as  provinces,  or  at  least 
prefectures,  the  foundation  and  superstructure  being  alike  a 
mere  pagoda  of  guesses. 

Some  years  ago  an  effort  was  made  in  a certain  district  to 
make  a more  exact  computation  of  the  population  of  a very 


i8 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


limited  area,  as  a sort  of  unit  of  measure.  For  this  purpose  a 
circle  was  taken,  the  radius  of  which  was  twenty  li,  the  foreign 
residence  being  at  the  centre.  A list  was  drawn  up  of  every 
village  having  received  famine  relief  in  the  year  1878,  so  that 
it  was  not  difficult  to  make  a proximate  guess  at  the  average 
number  of  families.  The  villages  were  150  in  number,  and 
the  average  size  was  taken  as  eighty  families,  which,  reckoning 
five  persons  to  the  family,  gave  a total  of  60,000  persons.  Al- 
lowing six  miles  to  be  the  equivalent  of  twenty  li,  the  popula- 
tion of  the  square  mile  would  be  531,  about  the  same  as  the 
average  of  the  kingdom  of  Belgium  (the  most  densely  popu- 
lated country  in  Europe),  which  had  in  1890  an  average  of  only 
534  to  the  square  mile. 

At  a distance  of  a few  miles  beyond  this  circle,  there  is  a 
tract  called  the  “Thirteen  Villages,”  because  that  is  the  num- 
ber within  a distance  of  five  li  / This  shows  that  the  partic- 
ular region  in  which  this  estimate  was  made,  happens  to  be  an 
unfavourable  one  for  the  purpose,  as  a considerable  part  of  it 
is  waste,  owing  to  an  old  bed  of  the  Yellow  River  which  has 
devastated  a broad  band  of  land,  on  which  are  no  villages. 
There  is  also  a water-course  leading  from  the  Grand  Canal  to 
the  sea,  and  a long  depression  much  below  the  general  average, 
thinly  occupied  by  villages,  because  it  is  liable  to  serious  inun- 
dation. 

For  these  reasons  it  seemed  desirable  to  make  a new  count 
in  a better  spot,  and  for  this  purpose  a district  was  chosen, 
situated  about  ninety  li  east  of  the  sub-prefecture  of  Lin 
Ch'ing,  to  which  it  belongs.  The  area  taken  was  only  half 
the  size  of  the  former,  and  instead  of  merely  estimating  the 
average  population  of  the  villages,  the  actual  number  of  fami- 
lies in  each  was  taken,  so  far  as  this  number  is  known  to  the 
natives.  The  man  who  prepared  the  village  map  of  the  area 
is  a native  of  the  central  village,  and  a person  of  excellent 
sense.  He  put  the  population  in  every  case  somewhat  below 
the  popular  estimate  so  as  to  be  certainly  within  bounds.  The 


THE  CHINESE  VILLAGE 


19 


number  of  persons  to  a “family”  was  still  taken  at  five, 
though,  as  he  pointed  out,  this  is  a totally  inadequate  allow- 
ance. Many  ‘ ‘ families  ’ ’ live  and  have  all  things  in  common, 
and  are  therefore  counted  as  one,  although  as  in  the  case  of 
this  particular  individual,  the  “family”  may  consist  of  some 
twenty  persons.  To  the  traveller  in  this  region,  the  villages 
appear  to  be  both  large  and  thickly  clustered,  and  the  enumer- 
ation shows  this  to  be  the  case.  Within  a radius  of  ten  li 
(three  miles)  there  are  sixty-four  villages,  the  smallest  having 
thirty  families  and  the  largest  more  than  1,000,  while  the 
average  is  188  families.  The  total  number  of  families  is  12,- 
040,  and  the  total  number  of  persons  at  five  to  the  family,  is 
60,200,  or  more  than  double  the  estimate  for  the  region  with 
twice  the  diameter.  This  gives  a population  of  2,129  to  the 
square  mile. 

So  far  as  appearances  go,  there  are  thousands  of  square  miles 
in  southern  and  central  Chih-li,  western  and  southwestern 
Shan-tung,  and  northern  Ho-nan,  where  the  villages  are  as 
thick  as  in  this  one  tract,  the  contents  of  which  we  are  thus 
able  proximately  to  compute.  But  for  the  plain  of  North 
China  as  a whole,  it  is  probable  that  it  would  be  found  more 
reasonable  to  estimate  300  persons  to  the  square  mile  for  the 
more  sparsely  settled  districts,  and  from  1,000  to  1,500  for 
the  more  thickly  settled  regions.  In  any  case  a vivid  impres- 
sion is  thus  gained  of  the  enormous  number  of  human  beings 
crowded  into  these  fertile  and  historic  plains,  and  also  of  the 
almost  insuperable  difficulties  in  the  way  of  an  exact  knowl- 
edge of  the  facts  of  the  true  “census.” 


II 


CONSTRUCTION  OF  VILLAGES 

TT  is  nearly  500  years  since  the  great  raid  of  the  nephew  of 
A Hung  Wu,  founder  of  the  Ming  Dynasty,  from  the  south- 
ern capital  of  China,  to  what  is  now  known  as  Peking,  then 
called  the  state  of  Yen.  The  celebrated  raider  is  popularly 
believed  to  have  destroyed  the  lives  of  all  those  whom  he  met, 
and  to  have  reduced  to  an  uninhabited  desert  the  whole  region 
from  the  Yang-tzu  River  to  Peking.  This  is  described  as  “Yen 
Wang’s  sweeping  the  North.”  After  this  ambitious  youth  had 
dispossessed  his  nephew,  who  was  the  rightful  heir  to  the 
throne,  he  took  the  title  of  Yung  Lo,  which  became  a famous 
name  in  Chinese  history.  To  repair  the  ravages  which  he  had 
made,  compulsory  emigration  was  established  from  southern 
Shan-hsi  and  from  eastern  Shan-tung.  Tradition  reports  that 
vast  masses  of  people  were  collected  in  the  city  of  Hung-tung 
Hsien  in  southern  Shan-hsi,  and  thence  distributed  over  the 
uncultivated  wastes  made  by  war.  Certain  it  is  that  through- 
out great  regions  of  the  plain  of  northern  China,  the  inhabi- 
tants have  no  other  knowledge  of  their  origin  than  that  they 
came  from  that  city. 

It  is  a curious  phenomenon  that  so  practical  a people  as  the 
Chinese,  and  one  having  so  instinctive  a sense  of  the  points  of 
the  compass  that  they  speak  of  a pain  in  “the  east  side”  of 
the  stomach,  are  indifferent  to  regularity  of  form  in  their 
towns.  Every  Chinese  city  seems  to  lie  four  square,  but  per- 
haps it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  no  Chinese  city  really  does 
so  lie.  On  the  contrary  a city  wall  is  always  found  to  have 
certain  deliberate  curves  and  irregularities  which  are  designed 
for  geomantic  purposes.  In  other  words  they  bring  good  luck, 


20 


CONSTRUCTION  OF  VILLAGES 


21 


or  they  keep  off  bad  luck,  and  are  representations  of  the  mys- 
terious science  of  feng-shui  or  geomancy.  It  is  for  this  reason 
that  city  gates  must  either  not  be  opposite  one  another,  or  if 
they  are  so,  some  obstruction  must  intervene  to  prevent  evil 
spirits  from  making  a clean  sweep  of  everything. 

It  is  customary  in  Western  lands  to  speak  of  “laying  out” 
a city  or  a town.  As  applied  to  a Chinese  village,  such  an  ex- 
pression would  be  most  inappropriate,  for  it  would  imply  that 
there  has  been  some  trace  of  design  in  the  arrangement  of  the 
parts,  whereas  the  reverse  is  the  truth.  A Chinese  village,  like 
Topsy,  “just  growed,”  how,  or  why,  no  one  knows  or  cares. 
At  some  remote  and  generally  unascertainable  time  in  the  dim 
past  some  families  arrived  from  somewhere  else,  camped  down, 
made  themselves  a “local  habitation,”  (their  name  they  prob- 
ably brought  with  them),  and  that  was  the  village.  It  has  a 
street,  and  perhaps  a network  of  them,  but  no  two  are  parallel, 
except  by  accident,  and  no  one  of  them  is  straight.  The 
street  is  the  path  which  has  been  found  by  long  experience  to 
be  a necessary  factor  in  promoting  communication  between  the 
parts  of  the  village  and  the  outside  world.  It  is  not  only  liable 
to  take  sudden  and  inexplicable  turns,  but  it  varies  in  width  at 
different  points.  Sometimes  in  a village  a quarter  of  a mile 
long,  there  may  not  be  a single  crossroad  enabling  a vehicle  to 
get  from  the  front  street  to  the  back  one,  simply  because  the 
town  grew  up  in  that  way,  and  no  one  either  could  or  would 
remedy  it,  even  if  any  one  desired  it  otherwise.  At  right 
angles  to  the  main  street  or  streets,  run  narrow  alleys,  upon 
which  open  the  yards  or  courts  in  which  the  houses  are  situ- 
ated. Even  the  buildings  which  happen  to  stand  contiguous  to 
the  main  street  offer  nothing  to  the  gaze  but  an  expanse  of  dead 
wall.  If  any  doorway  opens  on  the  highway,  it  is  protected 
from  the  evil  influences  which  might  else  result,  by  a screen 
wall,  preventing  any  observation  of  what  goes  on  within.  A 
village  is  thus  a city  in  miniature,  having  all  the  evils  of  over- 
crowding, though  it  may  be  situated  in  the  midst  of  a wide 


22 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


and  comparatively  uninhabited  plain.  Whether  land  is  dear  or 
cheap,  a village  always  has  the  same  crowded  appearance,  and 
there  is  in  either  case  the  same  indifference  to  the  requirements 
of  future  growth. 

The  mountains  furnish  an  abundance  of  stone,  from  which 
dwellings  situated  in  such  districts  are  built — dark,  damp,  and 
unwholesome  at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  but  especially  so  in  the 
time  of  heavy  rains.  Even  more  unpleasant  are  the  cave 
dwellings  found  in  the  loamy  soil  of  loess  regions,  lighted  only 
from  the  front,  and  quite  free  from  any  form  of  ventilation,  a 
luxury  for  which  no  provision  is  made  in  the  construction  of  a 
Chinese  dwelling. 

By  far  the  most  common  material  of  which  the  Chinese  build 
their  houses  is  that  which  happens  to  be  nearest  at  hand. 
Bricks  are  everywhere  made  in  great  quantities,  almost  always 
of  the  same  colour  as  the  clothes  of  the  people,  a bluish 
gray.  This  tint  is  secured  by  sealing  up  the  brick-kiln  per- 
fectly tight,  when  the  burning  of  the  bricks  is  finished,  and 
pouring  upon  the  concave  top  several  hundred  buckets  of 
water,  which,  filtering  through  the  soil  of  which  the  top  is  com- 
posed, is  instantly  converted  into  steam  when  it  reaches  the 
bricks,  and  alters  their  hue.  The  scarcity  of  fuel,  and  an  un- 
willingness to  employ  it  where  it  seems  like  a waste  leads  to  the 
almost  universal  practice  of  burning  the  bricks  too  little  to 
make  them  valuable  as  a building  material.  Instead  of  becom- 
ing hard  like  stones  as  do  foreign  bricks,  and  coated  with  a 
thick  glazing,  a large  percentage  of  Chinese  bricks  break 
merely  by  being  handled,  and  when  examined,  they  are  found 
to  be  like  well-made  bread,  full  of  air-holes.  Each  of  these 
openings  becomes  a tube  by  which  the  bibulous  bricks  suck  up 
moisture  from  below,  to  the  great  detriment  of  the  building  of 
which  they  generally  form  merely  the  foundations,  or  perhaps 
the  facings. 

The  vast  majority  of  country  dwellings  are  made  simply  of 
the  soil,  moulded  into  adobe  bricks,  dried  till  they  cease  to 


CONSTRUCTION  OF  VILLAGES 


*3 

shrink.  The  largest  of  these  bricks  are  two  or  three  inches 
thick,  and  a foot  wide,  and  perhaps  twenty  inches  in  length, 
weighing  even  when  thoroughly  dried  more  than  forty  pounds. 
The  cost  of  making  those  which  are  only  dried  in  a mould  is 
not  more  than  a cash  a piece ; those  which  are  stamped  while 
in  the  mould  with  a heavy  stone  rammer,  are  worth  three  or 
four  times  as  much.  If  experts  are  employed  to  do  this  work, 
the  outlay  is  greater  as  the  owner  of  the  earth  not  only  pro- 
vides a man  to  carry  the  necessary  water,  but  he  must  furnish 
tea  and  tobacco  for  the  workmen. 

The  foundations  of  adobe  houses,  like  those  of  all  others, 
must  be  of  brick,  and  at  the  height  of  a foot  or  two  above  the 
ground  will  have  a layer  of  reeds  or  some  other  substance,  de- 
signed to  prevent  the  dampness  from  rising  into  the  walls,  which 
crumble  in  such  a case  like  candy  houses  in  a rain.  There  is 
so  much  soda  in  the  soil  of  all  parts  of  the  Great  Plain  of 
northern  China,  that  unless  extreme  care  is  taken  the  best  built 
structures  will,  in  a very  few  years,  show  signs  of  decay. 

The  roof  is  meant  to  be  supported  by  posts,  no  matter  of 
what  material  the  house  is  built,  and  this  material  is  regarded 
as  only  the  filling  between  them,  but  in  the  cheaper  houses,  the 
posts  are  often  omitted  to  save  expense.  As  a result,  in  a 
rainy  year  thousands  of  houses  are  literally  soaked  down  when- 
ever the  moisture  has  sufficiently  weakened  the  foundations. 
In  this  way  many  persons  are  killed  and  many  more  injured. 
In  some  districts  one  sees  roofs  made  with  the  frame  resembling 
that  of  a foreign  house,  but  the  ordinary  form  is  with  king  and 
queen  posts.  In  either  case  the  timbers  running  lengthwise  of 
the  building  support  small  purlines  upon  which  rest  thin  bricks, 
or  more  frequently  reeds,  mats,  or  sorghum  stalks,  over  which 
is  spread  the  earth  which  forms  the  greater  part  of  all  roofs. 
Their  enormous  weight  when  well  soaked  make  them  highly 
dangerous  after  the  timbers  have  become  old  and  rotten. 
Where  the  roofs  are  flat,  they  serve  as  depositories  for  the 
crops,  and  for  fuel. 


24 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


If  the  village  is  situated  in  a low  spot,  the  precaution  is 
taken  to  throw  up  a mound  of  earth  on  which  to  build.  But 
whatever  the  nature  of  the  country,  the  removal  of  so  much 
earth  leaves  a series  of  gigantic  pits  around  every  village, 
which  catch  the  drainage  of  the  surrounding  region  and  the 
possession  of  which  is  disputed  by  ducks,  geese,  pigs  and  in 
summer  by  small  children  clad  only  in  the  skin  garments  fur- 
nished by  nature. 

The  abundant  moisture  is  an  inducement  to  the  growth  of 
luxuriant  groves  of  trees,  which,  seen  at  a distance,  produce  a 
charming  effect.  But  on  a nearer  approach  it  is  seen  that  the 
fine  old  trees  are  employed  exclusively  in  shading  the  mud- 
holes,  while  the  houses  of  the  village  are  exposed  to  the  fiercest 
rays  of  the  summer  sun.  Trees  are  indeed  to  be  met  with  in 
the  village  street,  but  they  are  not  designed  to  shade  a court- 
yard, which  is  almost  invariably  utterly  destitute  of  trees  of 
any  sort.  Even  grapevines  which  would  seem  a natural  and 
beautiful  relief  from  the  hideous  bareness  of  the  prevalent  earth 
colour,  are,  in  some  regions  at  least,  wholly  tabooed.  And 
why?  Because,  forsooth,  the  branches  of  the  grape  point 
down,  while  those  of  other  trees  point  up,  hence  it  would  be 
“unlucky”  to  have  grapevines,  though  not  at  all  “unlucky” 
to  roast  all  through  the  broiling  summer  for  the  lack  of  their 
grateful  shade. 

A man  whose  grandfather  had  been  rich,  and  who  was  dis- 
tinguished from  his  neighbours  by  owning  a two-story  dwelling, 
informed  the  writer  that  he  could  remember  that  his  grand- 
mother, who  lived  in  the  rear  court,  was  constantly  fretting  at 
the  lofty  buildings  in  front,  and  at  the  magnificent  elms  which 
shaded  the  compound  and  left  no  place  to  dry  clothes  ! In 
course  of  time  the  family  was  reduced  to  poverty,  the  two-story 
building  was  demolished,  and  the  trees  felled,  so  that  the  pres- 
ent generation,  like  other  families,  swelters  in  a narrow  court- 
yard, with  an  unlimited  opportunity  (very  little  used)  to  dry 
their  clothes.  Luxuries  which  are  denied  to  dwelling-houses, 


Itinerant  Blacksmiths  Employed  by  Villagers. 


CONSTRUCTION  OR  VILLAGES 


25 


are  cheerfully  accorded  to  the  gods,  who  have  no  clothes  to 
dry,  and  a very  small  temple  may  have  in  front  of  it  a grove  of 
very  old  trees. 

The  architecture  of  the  Chinese  has  been  compendiously  and 
perhaps  not  inaccurately  described  as  consisting  essentially  of 
two  sticks  placed  upright,  with  a third  laid  across  them  at  the 
top.  The  shape  of  some  Chinese  roofs,  however  they  may 
vary  among  themselves,  suggests  the  tent  as  the  prime  model ; 
though,  as  Dr.  Williams  and  others  have  remarked,  there  is  no 
proof  of  any  connection  between  the  Chinese  roof  and  the  tent. 
Owing  to  the  national  reluctance  to  erect  lofty  buildings,  almost 
all  Chinese  cities  present  an  appearance  of  monotonous  uni- 
formity, greatly  in  contrast  with  the  views  of  large  cities  to  be 
had  in  other  lands. 

If  Chinese  cities  are  thus  uninviting  in  their  aspect,  the 
traveller  must  not  expect  to  find  anything  in  the  country  village 
to  gratify  his  aesthetic  sense.  There  is  no  such  word  as  “aes- 
thetic” in  Chinese,  and,  if  there  were,  it  is  not  one  in  which 
villagers  would  take  any  interest.  The  houses  are  generally 
built  on  the  north  end  of  the  space  reserved  as  a courtyard,  so 
as  to  face  the  south,  and  if  additional  structures  are  needed 
they  are  placed  at  right  angles  to  the  main  one,  facing  east  and 
west.  If  the  premises  are  large,  the  front  wall  of  the  yard  is 
formed  by  another  house,  similar  to  the  one  in  the  rear,  and 
like  it  having  side  buildings.  However  numerous  or  however 
wealthy  the  family,  this  is  the  normal  type  of  its  dwelling.  In 
cities  this  type  is  greatly  modified  by  the  exigencies  of  the  con- 
tracted space  at  disposal,  but  in  the  country  it  rules  supreme. 

The  numerative  of  Chinese  houses  is  a word  which  denotes 
division,  signifying  not  a room,  but  rather  such  a part  of  a 
dwelling  as  can  conveniently  be  covered  by  timbers  of  one 
length.  As  these  timbers  are  seldom  very  large  or  very  long, 
one  division  of  a house  will  not  often  exceed  ten  or  twelve  feet 
in  length,  by  a little  less  in  width  from  front  to  back.  An  or- 
dinary house  will  comprise  three  of  these  divisions,  though 


26 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


there  may  be  but  one  partition,  forming  one  double  and  one 
single  room.  There  is  no  ceiling,  and  the  roof,  which  is  usu- 
ally not  lofty,  is  in  full  view.  Most  doors  are  made  with  two 
leaves,  projections  above  and  below,  like  pins,  serving  as  the 
hinges.  There  is  a movable  doorsill,  out  of  which  a small  hole 
is  often  cut  to  admit  of  entrance  and  exit  for  the  dogs  and  cats. 
Such  doors  cannot  be  tightly  closed,  for  the  rude  workmanship 
and  the  unequal  shrinkage  of  the  wood  always  render  it  easy  to 
see  through  the  many  cracks. 

Almost  all  parts  of  the  eighteen  provinces  are  very  hot  in 
summer,  but  it  is  only  in  some  regions  that  a back  door  will  be 
found  opening  opposite  the  front  one.  The  wooden  grating, 
which  does  duty  as  a window,  is  built  into  the  wall,  for  security 
against  thieves,  and  is  often  covered,  even  in  the  heat  of  sum- 
mer, with  oiled  paper.  Doors  do  not  open  directly  from  dwell- 
ing-houses to  the  street,  and  if  there  are  any  windows  on  the 
street  side  of  the  house,  they  are  very  small  and  very  high. 

Just  inside  the  door  is  built  the  adobe  support  for  the  cook- 
ing-boiler, the  latter  shaped  like  a saucer  and  made  very  thin 
in  order  to  economize  fuel  to  the  utmost.  In  all  districts  where 
provision  is  to  be  made  for  heating  the  room,  it  is  done  by  con- 
ducting the  smoke  from  this  primitive  range  through  a com 
plicated  set  of  flues,  under  the  divan  called  a k‘ang  which 
serves  as  a bed,  and  which  is  merely  an  arrangement  of  adobe 
bricks.  If  the  houses  are  thatched  with  straw  the  opening  for 
smoke  must  be  near  the  ground,  as  a precaution  against  fire. 

On  the  end  of  the  k'ang  are  piled  the  bed-quilts  of  the 
household  and  whatever  trunks  or  boxes  they  may  be  able  to 
boast,  for  this  is  the  only  part  of  the  dwelling  which  is  not 
likely  to  be  damp.  As  the  fire  is  so  near  to  the  outer  door 
where  drafts  are  strong,  as  the  flues  are  very  likely  to  get  out  of 
order,  and  as  there  are  no  chimneys  worthy  of  the  name,  it  is 
inevitable  that  the  smoke  should  be  distributed  throughout  the 
building  with  the  greatest  impartiality,  often  forming  a coating 
of  creosote  an  inch  or  more  in  thickness. 


CONSTRUCTION  OF  VILLAGES 


27 

Above  the  cooking-range  is  fastened  the  image  of  the 
kitchen-god,  popularly  supposed  to  be  a deification  of  Chang 
Kung,  a worthy  who  lived  in  the  eighth  century  of  our  era,  and 
was  able  to  live  in  perfect  peace,  although  nine  generations 
simultaneously  inhabited  the  same  yard.  Even  his  hundred 
dogs  were  so  polite  as  to  wait  for  another,  if  any  one  of  them 
was  late  at  a meal. 

The  reigning  emperor  of  the  T'ang  Dynasty  sent  for  Chang 
Kung,  to  inquire  the  secret  of  such  wonderful  harmony,  and 
calling  for  a pen,  he  is  said  to  have  written  the  character  de- 
noting “Forbearance”  a great  number  of  times.  According 
to  tradition  the  picture  of  this  patriarch  was  placed  in  every 
dwelling  as  a stimulus  to  the  imitation  of  his  example,  a pur- 
pose for  which  it  unfortunately  proves  quite  inert. 

That  the  dwellings  of  the  Chinese  are  cold  in  winter,  hot  in 
summer,  and  smoky  all  the  year  round  is  inevitable.  Even  in 
the  coldest  weather  there  is  no  escape  from  the  bitter  cold,  ex- 
cept as  it  may  be  got  by  curling  upon  the  k‘ang.  For  this  rea- 
son Chinese  women  often  speak  of  the  k‘ang  as  like  an  “own 
mother.”  A room  in  which  there  is  none  is  considered  almost 
uninhabitable.  But  from  an  Occidental  point  of  view  they  are 
models  of  discomfort.  The  heat  is  but  slowly  diffused,  and 
during  a long  night  one  may  be  alternately  drenched  with  per- 
spiration, and  then  chilled  to  the  bone  as  the  heat  diminishes. 
The  adobe  bricks  of  which  the  k‘ang  is  composed  crumble  if  an 
uneven  pressure  is  made  upon  them,  so  that  one  often  finds  the 
k'aiigs  in  an  inn  full  of  pitfalls.  They  are  always  the  lodging 
places  of  a multitude  of  tiny  monsters  to  which  the  Chinese  are 
too  much  accustomed  to  complain.  Even  when  the  adobe 
bricks  are  broken  up  in  the  spring  to  be  pulverized  as  manure 
— on  account  of  the  creosote — the  animal  life  lodged  in  the 
walls  is  apparently  sufficient  to  restock  the  universe. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  the  title-deeds  to  land  are  in  course 
of  years  destroyed  or  lost,  for  there  is  in  a Chinese  house  no 
proper  place  in  which  they  may  be  kept.  The  only  closets  are 


28 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


made  by  leaving  out  a few  bricks  from  the  wall.  A small 
board,  resting  on  two  pegs  often  forms  the  only  book-shelf  to 
be  found  in  the  apartments  even  of  men  of  letters.  Doors  are 
locked  by  passing  the  link  of  a chain  over  a staple  in  the  door- 
frame above ; but  Chinese  padlocks  can  generally  be  picked 
with  a wire,  a chop-stick,  or  even  with  a dry  weed,  and  afford 
no  real  protection.  Thieves  are  always  provided  with  an  assort- 
ment of  keys,  and  often  get  in  by  lifting  the  doors  off  the  pins 
which  serve  as  hinges.  Nothing  is  easier  than  to  dig  through 
adobe  walls.  In  some  of  the  rich  villages  of  Shan-hsi  house- 
walls  are  built  quite  six  feet  thick  to  discourage  such  penetration. 

The  floor  of  all  common  dwellings  is  merely  the  earth,  not 
smoothed  but  beaten  into  fixed  inequalities;  this  we  are  as- 
sured (in  reply  to  a question  why  smoothness  is  not  cultivated) 
is  much  the  best  way,  as  by  this  means  every  fluid  spilled  will 
run  out  of  itself ! In  the  corners  of  the  dwelling  stand,  lie,  or 
hang,  the  numerous  household  articles  for  which  there  is  no 
other  place.  Jars  of  grain,  agricultural  implements,  clumsy 
looms  for  weaving  cotton,  spinning  wheels,  baskets  of  all  sizes 
and  shapes,  one  or  two  benches,  and  possibly  a chair,  all  seem 
to  occupy  such  space  as  is  to  be  had,  while  from  the  sooty  roof 
depend  all  manner  of  articles,  hung  up  so  as  to  be  out  of  the 
way — some  of  which  when  wanted  must  be  hooked  down  with 
a pole.  The  maxim  “a  place  for  everything,  and  everything 
in  its  place”  is  inappropriate  to  a Chinese  dwelling,  where 
there  is  very  little  place  for  anything. 

The  small  yard  is  in  as  great  confusion  as  the  house,  and  for 
the  same  reason.  Dogs,  cats,  chickens  and  babies  enjoy  a 
very  limited  sphere  of  action,  and  generally  take  to  the  street, 
which  is  but  an  extension  of  the  court.  If  the  family  owns 
animals,  some  place  must  be  found  for  them  in  the  yard,  though 
when  not  in  use  they  spend  their  time  anchored  by  a very 
short  rope,  attached  to  pegs  sunk  deep  in  the  ground,  in  front 
of  the  owner’s  dwelling.  Pigs  are  kept  in  a kind  of  well,  with 
a brick  wall  to  prevent  its  caving  in,  and  by  climbing  a very 


CONSTRUCTION  OF  VILLAGES 


29 


steep  flight  of  brick  stairs  they  can  ascend  to  a little  kennel 
provided  for  them  at  the  edge  of  their  pits — in  many  regions  the 
only  two-story  domiciles  to  be  found  ! 

The  Chinese  village  is  always  a miniature  city,  not  only  by 
reason  of  its  internal  arrangements — or  lack  of  it — but  often 
also  in  the  virtue  of  the  fact  that  it  is  surrounded  by  a wall. 

Not  many  years  ago  several  regiments  stationed  near  the  Yel- 
low River,  in  Shan-tung,  mutinied,  killed  an  officer  and 
marched  off  to  their  homes.  The  intelligence  of  this  event 
spread  throughout  the  province,  and  each  region  feared  to  be 
visited  by  the  soldiers  who  were  sure  to  plunder  and  perhaps  to 
kill.  So  great  was  the  panic  that  cities  hundreds  of  miles  from 
the  seat  of  the  disturbance  were  packed  with  a multitude  of 
farm-carts  loaded  with  villagers  who  had  left  their  homes  and 
abandoned  their  crops  at  the  beginning  of  the  wheat  harvest, 
trusting  to  find  safety  within  city  walls.  The  losses  sustained 
in  consequence  were  immense. 

Events  like  this  may  occur  at  any  time,  and  the  great  T‘ai 
P'ing  Rebellion  of  half  a century  ago,  together  with  its  result- 
ant disorders,  left  an  ineffaceable  impression  of  the  insecurity  of 
an  unwalled  village.  Although  the  walls  are  seldom  more  than 
fifteen  or  twenty  feet  in  height,  whenever  a year  of  bad  har- 
vests occurs,  and  bands  of  plunderers  roam  about,  the  use  of 
even  such  defences  is  made  obvious.  Slight  as  is  their  value 
against  an  organized,  well-directed  attack,  experience  shows 
that  they  are  often  sufficient  to  accomplish  the  object  intended, 
by  diverting  the  stream  of  invaders  to  other  villages  where  they 
meet  with  no  resistance.  The  least  rumour  of  an  uprising  in 
any  quarter  is  often  sufficient  to  stimulate  the  villagers  to  levy 
a tax  upon  the  land  in  order  to  repair  their  earthen  ramparts, 
in  which,  not  without  good  reason,  they  place  much  more  de- 
pendence than  in  the  cautious  and  dilatory  movements  of  the 
local  authorities  who  are  generally  in  no  condition  to  cope  with 
an  organized  and  resolute  force,  especially  with  those  rebels  who 
have  a real  grievance. 


Ill 


VILLAGE  NOMENCLATURE 

* I 'HE  Chinese  is  justly  termed  a poetical  language.  The 
titles  of  emperors,  the  names  of  men,  the  signs  of 
shops,  all  have  some  felicitous  meaning.  It  is  therefore  some- 
what of  a disappointment  to  discover  that  the  names  of  Chinese 
villages,  unlike  those  of  cities,  are  not  as  a rule  either  poetical 
or  significant.  The  drafts  upon  the  language  by  the  incessant 
multiplication  of  hamlets  are  too  great  to  be  successfully  met. 
Nearly  all  Chinese  surnames  serve  as  the  designation  of  vil- 
lages, as  in  other  lands  the  names  of  families  are  attached  to 
the  settlements  which  they  make.  Sometimes  two  or  more  sur- 
names are  linked  together  to  denote  the  village,  as  Chang- 
Wang  Chuang,  the  village  of  the  Chang  and  the  Wang  fami- 
lies. It  often  happens  that  in  the  changes,  wrought  by  time, 
of  the  families  for  whom  the  place  was  named  not  a single  rep- 
resentative remains.  In  such  cases  the  name  may  be  retained 
or  it  may  be  altered,  though  all  recollection  of  the  circumstan- 
ces of  the  change  may  be  lost. 

The  most  conspicuous  object  in  a Chinese  village  is  generally 
a temple,  and  this  building  often  gives  its  name  to  the  hamlet. 
Thus  the  wall  surrounding  a temple  is  covered  with  red  plaster, 
and  the  village  is  dubbed  Red  Temple.  In  a few  years  the 
plaster  falls  off,  but  the  name  sticks.  Temples  are  frequently 
associated  with  the  families  which  were  prominent  in  their  con- 
struction, and  the  name  of  the  village  is  very  likely  to  be  de- 
rived from  this  source,  as  Wang  Chia  Miao,  the  Temple  of  the 
Wang  Family;  the  Hua  Chia  Ssu,  the  monastery  of  the  Hua 
Family.  If  there  happen  to  be  two  temples  of  a similar  ap- 
pearance, the  village  may  get  the  title  of  Double  Temple,  and 


3° 


VILLAGE  NOMENCLATURE 


3* 


in  general  any  peculiarity  in  edifices  of  this  sort  is  likely  to  be 
stereotyped  in  the  village  name. 

The  habit  of  using  the  names  of  families  and  temples  to  in- 
dicate the  villages  is  a fertile  source  of  confusion  through  the 
indefinite  multiplication  of  the  same  name.  There  is  no  postal 
system  in  China  compelling  each  post  office  to  have  a designa- 
tion which  shall  not  be  confounded  with  others  in  the  same 
province.  Hence  the  more  common  names  are  so  exceedingly 
common  that  they  lose  all  value  as  distinctive  designations. 
“Chang,  Wang,  Li,  and  Chao,”  are  the  four  surnames  which 
the  Chinese  regard  as  the  most  prevalent,  the  first  two  of  them 
far  out-distancing  all  their  competitors.  The  number  of  places 
in  a given  district  bearing  the  same,  or  similar  names,  is  past 
all  ascertaining;  as,  say  eight  or  ten  Wang  Family  villages,  the 
Larger  Wang  Village,  the  Smaller  Wang  Village,  the  Front 
Wang  Village,  the  Rear  Wang  Village,  the  Wang  Village 
Under-the-bank,  and  so  forth.  Even  with  this  complexity,  dis- 
tinction would  be  a much  easier  matter  if  the  same  name  were 
always  used,  but  anything  which  has  a Wang  about  it  is  like  to 
be  called  simply  Wang  Village,  and  only  on  inquiry  is  it  to  be 
learned  which  of  all  these  Wangs  is  the  one  intended. 

A similar  ambiguity  is  introduced  along  the  line  of  imperial 
highways,  where  the  hamlets  at  which  food  is  sold,  and  where 
accommodations  are  offered  to  travellers,  are  called  “shops,” 
taking  their  distinctive  title  from  the  distance  to  the  district 
city, — as  Five  Mile  Shop,  Ten  Mile,  Fifteen,  Twenty,  Thirty, 
and  Forty  Mile  Shop.  Each  district  city  may  have  “ shops  ” 
of  this  kind  on  each  side  of  it,  and  while  the  one  twenty  miles 
(or  li)  north  is  Twenty  Li  Shop,  so  is  the  one  twenty  li  south, 
to  the  great  confusion  of  the  traveller,  who  after  all  is  not  sure 
where  he  is.  In  addition  to  this  ambiguity,  the  Thirty  Li  Shop 
of  one  city  is  liable  to  be  confounded  with  the  Thirty  Li  Shop 
of  the  next  city.  It  is  a common  circumstance  to  find  an  in- 
significant hamlet  with  a name  comprising  four  or  five  charac- 
ters, the  local  pronunciation  of  which  is  generally  difficult  to 


32 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


catch,  as  the  words  are  spoken  as  one  prolonged,  many- 
syllabled  sound.  This  leads  to  abbreviations,  the  same  long 
title  having  perhaps  two  or  three  different  modes  of  utterance, 
to  the  bewilderment  of  strangers,  and  to  the  intense  amusement 
of  the  rustic  born  on  the  spot,  who  cannot  conceive  what  there 
can  be  so  hard  to  understand  about  a name  which  is  to  him  as 
familiar  as  his  own. 

Another  source  of  confusion  in  the  nomenclature  of  Chinese 
villages,  is  the  almost  universal  habit  of  varying  one  or  more 
characters  of  a name  without  any  apparent  reason.  The  altera- 
tion has  no  connection  with  euphony,  ease  of  pronunciation, 
or  with  any  known  cause  whatever,  but  seems  to  be  due  to  an 
irresistible  instinct  for  variety,  and  to  an  antipathy  to  a too 
simple  uniformity.  Thus  a village  the  proper  title  of  which  is 
the  Ancient  Monastery  of  the  Li  Family,  (Li  Ku  Ssu)  is 
generally  called  Li  Kuang  Ssu ; a village  known  as  that  of 
Benevolence  and  Virtue  (Jen  T6  Chuang),  is  ordinarily  styled 
J§n  Wang  Chuang.  Analogous  to  this  habit,  is  that  of  affixing 
two  entirely  distinct  names  to  the  same  little  hamlet,  neither 
name  suggesting  the  other,  and  the  duplication  merely  serving 
to  confound  confusion.  Thus  a village  which  has  a name  de- 
rived from  a temple,  like  Hsiian  Ti  Miao  (the  temple  to  Hsiian 
Ti)  is  also  known  as  Chang  Chuang  (the  village  of  the  Chang 
Family),  but  as  there  are  many  other  villages  of  Chang  fami- 
lies near  by  this,  one  will  be  known  by  way  of  distinction,  as 
the  “ Chang  Family  village  which  has  a temple  to  Hsiian  Ti  ” ! 
Many  persons  have  occasion  to  write  the  names  of  villages, 
who  have  but  the  scantiest  knowledge  of  Chinese  characters, 
and  they  are  as  likely  to  indite  a false  character  having  the 
same  sound  as  a right  one — nay,  far  more  so — and  thus  it  hap- 
pens that  there  is  a perpetual  uncertainty,  never  set  at  rest  in 
any  manner  whatsoever,  as  to  what  the  real  name  of  a place 
ought  to  be,  for  to  all  Chinese  one  name  is  as  good  as  another, 
and  in  such  matters,  as  in  many  others,  there  appears  to  be  no 
intuition  of  right  and  wrong. 


VILLAGE  NOMENCLATURE 


33 


Chinese  villages  are  only  individual  Chinese  amplified,  and, 
like  individuals,  they  are  liable  to  be  nicknamed  ; and,  as  often 
happens  with  human  beings,  the  nickname  frequently  supplants 
the  original,  of  which  no  trace  may  remain  in  memory.  This 
helps  to  account  for  the  singular  appellations  of  many  villages. 
A market-town  on  the  highway,  the  wells  of  which  afford  only 
brackish  water,  was  called  “ Bitter  Water  Shop,”  but  as  this 
name  was  not  pleasing  to  the  ear,  it  was  changed  on  the  tax 
lists  to  “SweetWater  Shop.”  If  anyone  inquires  how  it  is 
that  the  same  fountain  can  send  forth  at  the  same  time  waters 
both  bitter  and  sweet,  he  is  answered  with  conclusive  simplicity, 
“Sweet  Water  Shop  is  the  same  as  Bitter  Water  Shop  ! ” A 
village  situated  on  the  edge  of  a river  was  named  after  the  two 
leading  families,  but  when  the  river  rose  to  a great  height  this 
name  sunk  out  of  sight,  and  there  emerged  the  title,  “ Look  at 
the  Water;  ” but  even  this  alteration  not  being  sufficient  to  sat- 
isfy the  thirst  for  variety,  the  name  is  written  and  pronounced  as 
if  it  meant,  “ Look  at  the  Grave ! ” A hamlet  named  for  the  Liu 
Family  had  in  it  a bully  who  appeared  in  a lawsuit  with  a black 
eye,  and  hence  was  called  the  Village  of  Liu  with  the  Black 
Eye.  In  another  instance  a town  had  the  name  of  Dropped 
Tooth,  merely  because  the  local  constable  lost  a central  incisor 
(Lao  Ya  Chen);  but  in  course  of  time  this  fact  was  forgotten, 
and  the  name  altered  into  “ Market-town  of  the  Crows,”  (Lao 
Kua  Chen)  which  it  still  retains. 

A village  in  which  most  of  the  families  joined  the  Roman 
Catholics  and  pulled  down  all  their  temples,  gained  from  this 
circumstance  the  soubriquet  of  “ No  Gods  Village  ” (Wu  Shen 
Chuang).  The  following  specimens  of  singular  village  names 
are  all  taken  from  an  area  but  a few  miles  square,  and  could 
doubtless  be  paralleled  in  almost  any  other  region.  “The  Im- 
perial Horse  Yard”  (Yii  Ma  Yuan).  This  title  is  said  to 
have  been  inherited  from  the  times  of  the  founder  of  the  Sung 
Dynasty.  It  is  generally  corrupted  into  “Sesame  Garden,” 
(Chih  Ma  Yuan).  “End  of  the  Cave,”  a village  situated  on 


34 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


a great  plain,  with  vagae  traditions  of  an  underground  passage. 
“Seeing  the  Horse”;  “ Horse  Words  Village,”  from  a tradi- 
tion of  a speaking  animal;  “Sun  Family  Bull  Village”; 
“Female  Dog  Village”;  “Wang  Family  Great  Melon  Vil- 
lage ”;  “ Separating  from  the  King  Village  ”;  “ Basket  Village 
of  the  Liu  Village”;  “ Tiger-catching  Village,”  and  “Tiger- 
striking  Fair”;  “Duck’s  Nest  of  the  Chou  Family”;  “Horse 
Without  a Hoof”;  “Village  of  Chang  of  the  Iron  Mouth”; 
“ Ts'ui  Family  Wild  Pheasant  Village  ”;  “ Wang  Family  Dog’s 
Tooth  ”;  “ Village  of  the  Benevolent  and  Loving  Magistrate  ”; 
“Village  of  the  Makers  of  Fine-tooth  Combs,”  (Pi-tzu- 
chiang  Chuang),  which  is  now  corrupted  into  “ The  Village 
Where  They  Wear  Pug-noses  ” ! 


The  Village  Cobbler. 


Village  Broom-Maker. 


IV 


COUNTRY  ROADS 


HE  contracted  quarters  in  which  the  Chinese  live  compel 


them  to  do  most  of  their  work  in  the  street.  Even  in 
those  cities  which  are  provided  with  but  the  narrowest  passages, 
these  slender  avenues  are  perpetually  choked  by  the  presence  of 
peripatetic  vendors  of  every  article  that  is  sold,  and  by  peripa- 
tetic craftsmen,  who  have  no  other  shop  than  the  street.  The 
butcher,  the  baker,  the  candlestick -maker,  and  hundreds  of 
other  workmen  as  well,  have  their  representatives  in  perpetual 
motion,  to  the  great  impediment  of  travel.  The  wider  the 
street,  the  more  the  uses  to  which  it  can  be  put,  so  that  travel 
in  the  broad  streets  of  Peking  is  often  as  difficult  as  that  in  the 
narrow  alleys  of  Canton.  An  “imperial  highway”  in  China 
is  not  one  which  is  kept  in  order  by  the  emperor,  but  rather 
one  which  may  have  to  be  put  in  order  for  the  emperor.  All 
such  highways  might  rather  be  called  low -ways ; for,  as  they 
are  never  repaired,  they  soon  become  incomparably  worse  than 
no  road  at  all. 

If  this  is  true  of  the  great  lines  of  travel  over  the  empire,  we 
must  not  expect  to  find  the  village  road  an  illustration  of  any 
doctrine  of  political  economy.  Each  of  them  is  simply  a forced 
contribution  on  the  part  of  the  owner  of  the  land  to  the  gen- 
eral welfare.  It  is  so  much  soil  on  which  he  is  compelled  to 
pay  taxes,  and  from  which  he  gets  no  more  good  than  any  one 
else.  Each  land-owner  will,  therefore,  throw  the  road  on  the 
edge  of  his  land,  so  that  he  may  not  be  obliged  to  furnish  more 
than  half  the  way.  But  as  the  pieces  of  land  which  he  happens 
to  own  may  be,  and  generally  are,  of  miscellaneous  lengths,  the 
road  will  wind  around  so  as  to  accommodate  the  prejudices  of 


35 


36 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


the  owner  in  this  particular,  which  explains  the  fact  that  in 
travelling  on  village  roads  it  is  often  necessary  to  go  a great 
distance  to  reach  a place  not  far  off. 

An  ordinary  road  is  only  wide  enough  for  one  vehicle,  but 
as  it  is  often  necessary  for  carts  to  pass  one  another,  this  can 
only  be  done  by  trespassing  on  the  crops.  To  prevent  this  the 
farmer  digs  deep  ditches  along  his  land,  resembling  gas-mains. 
Each  farmer  struggles  to  protect  his  own  land,  but  when  he 
drives  his  own  cart,  he  too  becomes  a “trespasser”  ; thus  a 
state  of  chronic  and  immitigable  warfare  is  established,  for 
which  there  is  absolutely  no  remedy.  The  Occidental  plan  of 
setting  apart  a strip  of  land  of  uniform  width,  free  from  taxes 
and  owned  by  the  state,  the  grade  of  which  shall  be  definite, 
is  utterly  beyond  the  comprehension  of  any  Chinese.  Where 
land  is  valuable  and  is  all  private  property,  road  repairs  are  out 
of  the  question.  There  is  no  earth  to  repair  with,  and  without 
repair,  the  roads  soon  reach  a condition  beyond  the  possibility 
of  any  repairs.  Constant  travel  compresses  and  hardens  the 
soil,  making  it  lower  than  the  adjacent  fields ; perpetual  attri- 
tion grinds  the  earth  into  banks,  which  by  heavy  gales  are 
blown  in  the  form  of  thick  dust  on  the  fields. 

In  the  rainy  season  the  fields  are  drained  into  the  road, 
which  at  such  times  is  constantly  under  water.  A slight 
change  of  level  allows  the  water  to  escape  into  some  still  lower 
road,  and  thus  a current  is  set  up,  which  becomes  first  a brook, 
and  then  a rushing  torrent,  constantly  wearing  out  its  bed. 
This  process  repeated  for  decades  and  for  centuries  turns  the 
road  into  a canal,  several  feet  below  the  level  of  the  fields.  It 
is  a proverb  that  a road  1,000  years  old  becomes  a river, 
just  as  a daughter-in-law  of  many  years’  standing  gradually 
“summers  into  a mother-in-law.” 

By  the  time  the  road  has  sunk  to  the  level  of  a few  feet  be- 
low the  adjacent  land,  it  is  liable  to  be  wholly  useless  as  a 
thoroughfare.  It  is  a canal,  but  it  can  neither  be  navigated 
nor  crossed.  Intercourse  between  contiguous  villages  lying 


COUNTRY  ROADS 


37 


along  a common  “highway,”  is  often  for  weeks  together  en- 
tirely interrupted.  The  water  drained  from  the  land  often 
carries  with  it  large  areas  of  valuable  soil,  leaving  in  its 
place  a yawning  chasm.  When  the  water  subsides,  the 
owner  of  the  land  sallies  out  to  see  what  has  become  of  this 
section  of  his  farm.  It  has  been  dissolved  in  the  canal,  but  if 
the  owner  cannot  find  that  particular  earth  he  can  find  other 
earth  just  as  good.  Wherever  the  light  soil  called  loam,  or 
“loess,”  is  found,  it  splits  with  a vertical  cleavage,  leaving 
high  banks  on  each  side  of  a rent  in  the  earth.  To  repair 
these,  the  owner  takes  the  soil  which  he  needs  from  a pit  ex- 
cavated by  the  side  of  the  road,  or  more  probably  from  the 
road  itself,  which  may  thus  in  a single  season  be  lowered  a foot 
or  more  in  depth.  All  of  it  is  his  land,  and  why  should  he 
not  take  it  ? If  the  public  wish  to  use  a road,  and  do  not  find 
this  one  satisfactory,  then  let  the  public  go  somewhere  else. 

If  a road  becomes  so  bad  as  to  necessitate  its  abandonment, 
a new  one  must  be  opened,  or  some  old  one  adapted  to  the  al- 
tered circumstances.  The  latter  is  almost  sure  to  be  the  alter- 
native ; for  who  is  willing  to  surrender  a part  of  his  scanty 
farm,  to  accommodate  so  impersonal  a being  as  the  public  ? 
In  case  of  floods,  either  from  heavy  rains  or  a break  in  some 
stream,  the  only  feasible  method  is  thought  to  be  to  sit  still  and 
await  the  gradual  retirement  of  the  water.  A raised  road 
through  the  inundated  district,  which  could  be  used  at  all  sea- 
sons, is  a triple  impossibility.  The  persons  whose  land  must 
be  disturbed  would  not  suffer  it,  no  one  would  lift  a finger  to 
do  the  work — except  those  who  happened  to  own  land  along 
the  line  of  the  route — and  no  one,  no  matter  where  he  lived, 
would  furnish  any  of  the  materials  which  would  be  necessary 
to  render  the  road  permanent. 

An  illustration  of  this  state  of  things  is  found  in  a small  vil- 
lage in  central  Chih-li,  where  lives  an  elderly  lady,  in  good 
circumstances,  a part  of  whose  land  is  annually  subject  to  flood 
from  the  drainage  of  the  surrounding  region.  The  evil  was  so 


38 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


serious  that  it  was  frequently  impossible  to  haul  the  crops  home 
on  carts,  but  they  had  either  to  be  brought  on  the  backs  of 
men  wading,  or,  if  there  were  water  enough,  toilfully  dragged 
along  on  stalk  rafts.  To  this  comparatively  enlightened  woman 
occurred  the  idea  of  having  her  men  and  teams  dig  trenches 
along  the  roadside,  raise  the  road  to  a level  above  possible 
flooding,  and  thus  remedy  the  trouble  permanently.  This  she 
did  wholly  at  her  own  expense,  the  emerging  road  being  a 
benefit  to  the  whole  country-side.  The  following  winter,  dur- 
ing which  the  contagious  influenza  was  world -prevalent,  there 
were  several  cases  in  the  village  terminating  fatally.  After  five 
or  six  persons  had  died,  the  villagers  became  excited  to  dis- 
cover the  latent  cause  of  the  calamity,  which  was  traced  to  the 
new  highway.  Had  another  death  occurred  they  would  have 
assembled  with  spades  and  reduced  it  to  its  previous  level,  thus 
raising  a radical  barrier  against  the  grippe  ! 

The  great  lines  of  Chinese  travel  might  be  made  permanently 
passable,  instead  of  being,  as  now,  interrupted  several  months 
of  the  year,  if  the  Governor  of  a Province  chose  to  compel  the 
several  District  Magistrates  along  the  line  to  see  that  these  im- 
portant arteries  are  kept  free  from  standing  water,  with  ditches 
in  good  order  at  all  seasons.  But  for  the  village  road  there  is 
absolutely  no  hope  until  such  time  as  the  Chinese  villager  may 
come  dimly  to  the  apprehension  that  what  is  for  the  advantage 
of  one  is  for  the  advantage  of  all,  and  that  wise  expenditure  is 
the  truest  economy — an  idea  of  which  at  present  he  has  as  little 
conception  as  of  the  binomial  theorem. 


V 


THE  VILLAGE  FERRY 

TN  the  northern  part  of  China,  although  the  streams  are  not 
so  numerous  as  at  the  south,  they  form  more  of  an  obstruc- 
tion to  travel,  on  account  of  the  much  greater  use  made  of 
animals  and  of  wheeled  vehicles.  The  Chinese  cart  is  a pecul- 
iarly northern  affair,  and  appears  to  be  of  much  the  same  type 
as  in  ancient  days.  The  ordinary  passenger  cart  is  dragged 
by  one  animal  in  the  cities,  and  by  two  in  the  country.  The 
country  cart,  employed  for  the  hauling  of  produce  and  also  for 
all  domestic  purposes  by  the  great  bulk  of  the  population,  is  a 
machine  of  untold  weight.  We  once  put  the  wheel  of  one  of 
these  carts  on  a platform-scale  and  ascertained  that  it  weighed 
177  pounds,  and  the  axle  fifty-seven  pounds  in  addition,  giving 
a total  of  41 1 pounds  for  this  portion  of  the  vehicle.  The 
shafts  are  stout  as  they  have  need  to  be,  and  when  the  cart  up- 
sets— a not  infrequent  occurrence — they  pin  the  shaft  animal 
to  the  earth,  effectually  preventing  his  running  away.  Mules, 
horses,  cows,  and  donkeys,  are  all  hitched  to  these  farm  carts, 
each  pulling  by  means  of  loose  ropes  anchored  to  the  axle. 
To  make  these  beasts  pull  simultaneously  is  a task  to  which 
no  Occidental  would  ever  aspire,  nor  would  he  succeed  if 
he  did  aspire.  General  Wolseley  mentions  in  his  volume  de- 
scribing the  campaign  in  i860,  when  the  army  marched  on 
Peking,  that  at  Ho  Hsi  Wu  all  the  Chinese  carters  deserted, 
and  the  British  troops  were  totally  unable  to  do  anything  what- 
ever with  the  teams. 

Under  these  conditions  of  travel,  a Chinese  ferry  is  one  of 
the  most  characteristic  specimens  of  the  national  genius  with 
which  we  are  acquainted.  Ferries  are  numerous,  and  so  are 


39 


40 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


carts  to  be  ferried.  The  interesting  thing  is  to  watch  the  proc- 
ess, and  it  is  a spectacle  full  of  delightful  surprises. 

At  a low  stage  of  water  the  ferry-boat  is  at  the  base  of  a slop- 
ing bank,  down  which  in  a diagonal  line  runs  the  track,  never 
wide  enough  for  two  carts  to  pass  each  other.  To  get  one  of 
these  large  carts  down  this  steep  and  shelving  incline  requires 
considerable  engineering  skill,  and  here  accidents  are  not  in- 
frequent. When  the  edge  of  the  ferry  is  reached  the  whole 
team  must  be  unhitched,  and  each  animal  got  on  the  boat  as 
best  may  be.  Some  animals  make  no  trouble  and  will  give  a 
mighty  bound,  landing  somewhere  or  everywhere  to  the  immi- 
nent peril  of  any  passengers  that  may  be  already  on  board. 
None  of  the  animals  have  any  confidence  in  the  narrow,  crooked, 
and  irregular  gang  planks  which  alone  are  to  be  found.  The 
more  crooked  these  planks  the  better,  for  a reason  which  the 
traveller  is  not  long  in  discovering.  The  object  is  by  no  means 
to  get  the  cart  and  animals  on  with  the  minimum  of  trouble, 
but  with  the  maximum  of  difficulty,  for  this  is  the  way  by  which 
hordes  of  impecunious  rascals  get  such  an  exiguous  living  as 
they  have.  When  an  animal  absolutely  refuses  to  budge — an 
occurrence  at  almost  every  crossing — its  head  is  bandaged  with 
somebody’s  girdle,  and  then  it  is  led  around  and  around  for  a 
long  time  so  as  to  induce  it  to  forget  all  about  the  ferryboat. 
At  last  it  is  led  to  the  edge  and  urged  to  jump,  which  it  will 
by  no  means  do.  Then  they  twist  its  tail — unless  it  happens 
to  be  a mule — put  a stick  behind  it  as  a lever  and  get  six  men 
at  each  end  of  the  stick,  while  six  more  tug  at  a series  of  ropes 
attached  to  the  horns.  After  a struggle  lasting  in  many  cases 
half  an  hour,  often  after  prolonged  and  cruel  beatings,  the  poor 
beasts  are  all  on  board,  where  the  more  active  of  them  employ 
their  time  in  prancing  about  among  and  over  the  human  pas- 
sengers, to  their  evident  danger. 

Sometimes  the  animals  become  excited  and  break  away, 
plunging  over  the  edge  of  the  ferry,  which  has  no  guards  of  any 
kind,  and  in  such  cases  it  is  not  uncommon  for  them  to  be 


Crossing  the  Ferry. 


THE  VILLAGE  FERRY 


4* 


floated  away,  or  even  lost.  The  writer  is  cognizant  of  a case 
in  which  the  driver  was  himself  pulled  into  a swift  and  swollen 
stream  while  struggling  to  restrain  his  mules,  and  was  drowned, 
a circumstance  which  probably  caused  his  “fare” — a scholar 
on  his  way  to  or  from  a summer  examination — endless  delay, 
as  he  would  be  detained  at  the  district  yamen  for  a witness. 

But  while  we  have  been  busy  with  the  animals,  we  have 
neglected  the  cart,  which  must  be  dragged  upon  the  ferryboat 
by  the  strength  of  a small  army  of  men.  There  may  be  only 
one  man  or  a man  and  a boy  on  a ferry,  but  to  pull  a loaded 
cart  over  the  rugged  edges  of  the  planks,  up  the  steep  incline, 
requires  perhaps  ten  or  fifteen  men.  This  is  accomplished  by 
the  process  so  familiar  at  Chinese  funerals,  the  wild  yelling  of 
large  bands  of  men  as  they  are  directed  by  the  leader. 

Every  individual  who  so  much  as  lays  a hand  upon  the  cart 
must  be  paid,  and  the  only  limit  is  the  number  who  can  cluster 
around  it.  As  in  all  other  Chinese  affairs  there  is  no  regular 
tariff  of  charges,  but  the  rule  is  that  adopted  by  some  Occi- 
dental railway  managers  to  “put  on  all  the  traffic  will  bear.” 
Suppose  for  example  that  the  passenger  cart  only  pays  a hundred 
cash  for  its  transport  across  the  stream ; this  sum  must  be 
divided  into  three  parts,  of  which  the  ferry  gets  but  one  and 
the  bands  of  volunteer  pullers  and  pushers  on  the  two  banks 
the  other  two-thirds.  In  this  way  it  often  happens  that  all  that 
one  of  these  loafing  labourers  has  to  show  for  his  spasmodic  toil 
may  be  four  cash,  or  in  extreme  cases  only  two,  or  even  one. 

On  the  farther  bank  the  scene  just  described  is  reversed,  but 
occupies  a much  shorter  time,  as  almost  any  animal  is  glad 
enough  to  escape  from  a ferry.  The  exit  of  the  carts  and  ani- 
mals is  impeded  by  the  struggles  of  those  who  want  to  get  a 
passage  the  other  way,  and  who  cannot  be  content  to  wait  till 
the  boat  is  unloaded.  There  is  never  any  superintendent  of 
the  boat,  any  more  than  of  anything  else  in  China,  and  all  is 
left  to  chance  or  fate.  That  people  are  not  killed  in  the  tumul- 
tuous crossings  is  a constant  wonder. 


42 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


It  is  not  unnatural  for  the  Occidental  whose  head  is  always 
full  of  ideas  as  to  how  things  ought  to  be  done  in  the  East,  to 
devise  a plan  by  which  all  this  wild  welter  should  be  reduced 
to  order.  He  would,  to  begin  with,  have  a fixed  tariff,  and  he 
would  have  a wide  and  gently  sloping  path  to  the  water’s  edge. 
He  would  have  a broad  and  smooth  gang-plank,  over  which 
both  animals  and  carts  could  pass  with  no  delay  and  no  incon- 
venience. He  would  have  a separate  place  for  human  pas- 
sengers and  for  beasts,  and  in  general  shorten  the  time,  diminish 
the  discomforts  and  occidentalize  the  whole  proceedings. 

Now  stop  for  a moment  and  reflect  how  any  one  of  these 
several  “reforms”  is  to  be  made  a fact  accomplished.  The 
gently  sloping  banks  will  wash  away  with  the  first  rise  of  the 
river ; who  is  to  repair  them ? Not  the  boatman,  for  “it  is  not 
the  business  of  the  corn-cutter  to  pull  off  the  stockings  of  his 
customers.”  If  the  ferry  is  an  “ official  ” one,  that  only  means 
that  the  local  magistrate  has  a “ squeeze  ” on  the  receipts,  not 
that  there  are  any  corresponding  obligations  toward  facilitating 
travel.  Who  is  to  provide  those  wide  gang-planks  over  which 
the  passage  is  to  be  so  easy?  Not  the  boatman.  Not  the  pas- 
senger, whose  only  wish  is  to  get  safely  over  for  that  single 
time.  Not  the  swarm  of  loafers  whose  interest  it  is  not  to  have 
any  gang-planks  at  all,  or  as  nearly  as  possible  none. 

And  even  if  the  roads  were  made,  and  the  gang-planks  all 
provided  by  some  benevolent  despot,  it  would  not  be  a week 
before  the  planks  would  be  missing,  and  all  things  going  on  as 
they  have  been  since  the  foundation  of  the  Chinese  world.  The 
appointment  of  inspectors,  police,  etc.,  etc.,  would  do  no  man- 
ner of  good,  unless  it  should  be  to  their  interest  to  further  the 
reform,  which  would  obviously  never  be  the  case. 

Imagine  an  Anglo-Indian  official,  whose  knowledge  of  Ori- 
ental races  and  traits  is  profound,  in  charge  of  the  ferries  for  a 
single  stretch,  say  of  the  Grand  Canal.  What  would  he  do — 
what  could  he  do,  even  if  backed  up  by  a force  theoretically 
irresistible  ? Nothing  whatever  to  any  lasting  or  good  purpose 


THE  VILLAGE  FERRY 


43 


until  the  need  of  some  alteration  in  their  system,  or  rather  lack 
of  system,  forces  itself  upon  the  Chinese  mind.  How  long  in 
the  ordinary  process  of  human  evolution  it  would  take  to  bring 
this  about,  it  is  easy  to  conjecture.  Think  for  an  instant  of 
the  objections  which  would  be  made  on  every  hand  to  the  in- 
novations. Who  are  these  fellows  ? What  are  their  motives  ? 
No  Chinese  can  for  a moment  comprehend  such  a conception 
as  is  embodied  in  the  phrase  Pro  bono  publico.  He  never 
heard  of  such  a thing,  and  what  is  more  he  never  wants  to  hear 
of  it. 

We  have  wasted  an  undue  amount  of  time  in  crossing  a 
Chinese  river,  for  it  is  a typical  instance  of  flagrant  abuses 
which  the  Chinese  themselves  do  not  mind,  which  would  drive 
Occidentals  to  the  verge  of  insanity — if  not  over  the  brink — 
and  which  it  seems  easy,  but  is  really  impossible  to  remedy. 
Mutatis  mutandis , these  things  are  a parable  of  the  empire. 
The  reform  must  come.  It  must  be  done  from  within.  But 
the  impulse  can  come  only  from  without. 


VI 


VILLAGE  WELLS 

/~VN  the  Great  Plain  of  North  China  the  wells  are  generally 
shallow,  ranging  from  ten  to  thirty  feet  in  depth ; one 
of  fifty  feet  would  be  unusual,  though  they  are  occasionally 
much  deeper.  The  well  is  a very  important  feature  of  the  outfit 
of  a Chinese  village,  though  never  the  scene  of  ablutions  as  in 
India.  To  save  the  labour  of  carrying  water,  all  the  animals 
are  led  to  the  well  to  drink,  and  the  resultant  mud  makes  the 
neighbourhood,  especially  in  winter,  very  disagreeable.  Rarely 
have  they  a cover  of  any  sort,  and  the  opening  being  level  with 
the  surface  of  the  ground,  it  would  seem  inevitable  that  ani- 
mals, children  and  blind  persons,  should  be  constantly  falling 
in, — as  indeed,  occasionally,  but  seldom  happens.  Even  the 
smallest  bairns  learn  to  have  a wholesome  fear  of  the  opening, 
and  ages  of  use  have  accustomed  all  Chinese  to  view  such 
dangers  with  calm  philosophy. 

The  business  of  sinking  wells  is  an  art  by  itself,  and  in  re- 
gions where  they  are  commonly  used  for  irrigation,  the  villagers 
acquire  a great  reputation  for  expertness  in  the  process.  A 
village  which  desires  a new  well  sends  an  invitation  to  the  experts, 
and  a party  of  men,  numbering  perhaps  fifteen  or  twenty,  re- 
sponds. Though  the  work  is  fatiguing,  difficult,  and  often 
dangerous,  no  money  payment  is  generally  offered  or  desired, 
but  only  a feast  to  all  the  workers,  of  the  best  food  to  be  had. 
If  the  well  is  to  be  anything  more  than  a water-pit,  it  is  dug  as 
deep  as  can  be  done  without  danger  of  caving  in,  and  then  the 
brick  lining  is  let  down  from  above.  The  basis  of  this  is  a 
strong  board  frame  of  the  exact  size  of  the  opening,  and  wide 
enough  to  place  the  walling  upon.  A section  of  the  wall  is 


44 


VILLAGE  WELLS 


45 


built  upon  this  base,  and  the  whole  is  firmly  bound  to  the  base- 
board within  and  without  by  ropes  or  reed  withes.  The  lining 
then  resembles  a barrel  without  the  heads,  and  when  completed 
is  so  strong  that,  though  it  be  subjected  to  considerable  and  un- 
equal strains,  it  will  neither  give  nor  fall  apart. 

Several  feet  of  the  lining  are  lowered  into  the  cavity,  and  as 
the  digging  proceeds  the  lining  sinks,  and  the  upper  wall  is 
built  upon  it.  If  it  is  desired  to  strike  a permanent  spring, 
this  is  accomplished  by  means  of  a large  bamboo  tube  to  which 
an  iron-pointed  head  is  fixed.  The  tube  is  driven  down  as  far 
as  it  will  go,  the  earth  and  sand  being  removed  from  within, 
and  when  a good  supply  of  water  is  reached  the  opening  is 
bricked  up  as  usual.  Such  wells  are  comparatively  rare,  and 
proportionately  valuable. 

Wherever  the  soil  and  water  are  favourable  for  market-gardens, 
the  country-side  abounds  in  irrigation  wells,  often  only  six  feet 
in  width,  and  provided  with  a double  windlass  or  sweep.  One 
may  meet  the  gardeners  carrying  home  the  ropes,  buckets,  and 
the  windlass  itself,  none  of  which  can  safely  be  left  out  over 
night.  Village  wells  are  often  sunk  on  ground  which  is  con- 
jointly owned  by  several  families.  Like  everything  else  Ori- 
ental, they  furnish  frequent  occasions  now,  as  in  patriarchal 
times,  for  bitter  feuds.  Whenever  one  is  especially  unpopular 
in  his  village,  the  first  threat  is  to  cut  off  his  water  supply, 
though  this  is  not  often  done. 

In  some  districts  quicksands  prevent  the  sinking  of  any  per- 
manent wells.  The  villagers  are  obliged  to  be  up  all  night  in 
order  to  take  their  turn  at  the  scanty  water  supply,  and  fights 
are  not  infrequent.  In  a dry  year  the  suffering  is  serious.  For 
evils  of  this  sort  tube-wells  would  seem  to  provide  a remedy, 
but  thus  far  there  has  been  great  difficulty  in  getting  down  to 
such  a depth  as  to  strike  good  water.  The  nature  of  the 
trouble  was  aptly  described  by  a coolie  employed  by  a foreigner 
on  a work  of  this  kind,  who  was  asked  why  the  pipe  was  not 
driven  deeper.  He  replied  that  it  was,  but  “the  deeper  they 


46 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


went  the  more  there  wasn’t  any  water  ” ! It  would  appear  that 
in  the  direction  of  a good  water  supply,  Western  knowledge 
might  be  applied  for  the  benefit  of  great  numbers  of  Chinese 
and  on  a large  scale,  or  if  not  on  a large  scale,  then  on  a small 
one. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  process  by  which  this  may  be  done, 
an  experience  of  many  years  ago  in  a Shan-tung  village  is 
worthy  of  mention.  One  of  the  missionaries  had  the  happi- 
ness of  welcoming  a second  son  to  his  household,  an  event 
which  seemed  to  the  Chinese  of  such  happy  omen  that  they 
were  moved  to  unite  in  subscribing  a fixed  sum  from  each 
family  in  the  village,  to  purchase  a silver  neck  ornament  for  the 
infant.  As  the  suggestion  was  not  absolutely  and  peremptorily 
vetoed,  the  committee  in  charge  went  on  and  ordered  the  silver 
chain  and  padlock,  after  which  the  delicate  question  arose  by 
what  means  this  gift  should  be  acknowledged.  After  can- 
vassing many  plans,  one  was  at  length  hit  upon  which  appeared 
to  satisfy  the  requisite  conditions,  which  were  in  brief  that  the 
thing  bestowed  should  be  a distinct  benefit  to  all  the  people, 
and  one  which  they  could  all  appreciate.  It  was  proposed  to 
put  a force-pump  in  a village  well  not  far  from  the  mission 
premises,  where  much  water  was  daily  drawn  by  a great  many 
people  with  a great  deal  of  labour.  The  force-pump  would  make 
this  toil  mere  child’s  play.  The  plan  was  so  plainly  fore- 
ordained to  success,  that  one  of  the  missionaries — although 
not  having  the  felicity  of  two  sons — was  moved  to  promise  also 
a stone  watering  trough,  which  in  Chinese  phrase,  would  be  a 
“Joy  to  Ten  Thousand  Generations.”  The  village  committee 
listened  gravely  to  these  proposals  without  manifesting  that  ex- 
hilaration which  the  obviously  successful  nature  of  the  inno- 
vation seemed  to  warrant,  but  promised  to  consider  and  report 
later.  When  the  next  meeting  of  this  committee  with  the  mis- 
sionaries took  place,  the  former  expressed  a wish  to  ask  a few 
questions.  They  pointed  out  that  there  were  four  or  five  wells 
in  the  village.  “Was  it  the  intention  of  the  Western  foreign 


VILLAGE  WELLS 


47 


* shepherds  ’ to  put  a ' water-sucker  ’ into  each  of  these  wells  ? ’ ’ 
No,  of  course  not ; it  was  meant  for  the  one  nearest  the  mis- 
sion premises.  To  this  it  was  replied  that  the  trinket  for  the 
shepherd’s  child  had  been  purchased  by  uniform  contributions 
from  each  family  in  the  village.  Some  of  these  families  lived 
on  the  front  street  and  some  on  the  back  one,  some  at  the  east 
end  and  some  at  the  west  end.  “ Would  it  be  consistent  with 
the  ideal  impartiality  of  Christianity  to  put  a ‘ water-sucker  ’ 
where  it  could  only  benefit  a part  of  those  for  whom  it  was 
designed  ? ’ ’ 

After  an  impressive  silence  the  committee  remarked  that 
there  was  a further  question  which  had  occurred  to  them.  This 
village,  though  better  off  than  most  of  those  about,  had  some 
families  which  owned  not  a foot  of  land.  These  landless  per- 
sons had  to  pick  up  a living  as  they  could.  One  way  was  by 
carrying  and  selling  water  from  house  to  house  in  buckets. 
According  to  the  account  of  the  shepherds  the  new  “water- 
sucker”  would  render  it  so  easy  to  get  water  that  anyone 
could  do  it,  and  the  occupation  of  drawers  of  water  would  be 
largely  gone.  It  could  not  be  the  intention  of  the  benevolent 
shepherds  to  throw  a class  of  workmen  out  of  work.  What 
form  of  industry  did  the  shepherds  propose  to  furnish  to  the 
landless  class,  to  compensate  them  for  the  loss  of  their  liveli- 
hood? At  this  point  the  silence  was  even  more  impressive 
than  before.  After  another  pause  the  village  committee  re- 
turned to  their  questions.  They  said  that  Western  inventions 
are  very  ingenious,  but  that  Chinese  villagers  “attain  unto 
stupidity.”  As  long  as  the  Western  shepherds  were  at  hand 
to  explain  and  to  direct  the  use  of  the  “water-suckers,”  all 
would  doubtless  go  well;  but  they  had  noticed  that  Western 
inventions  sometimes  had  a way  of  becoming  injured  by  the 
tooth  of  time,  or  by  bad  management.  Suppose  that  some- 
thing of  this  sort  took  place  with  the  ‘ ‘ water-sucker,  ’ ’ and  sup- 
pose that  no  shepherd  was  at  hand  to  repair  or  replace  it,  what 
should  then  be  done  after  the  villagers  had  come  to  depend 


48 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


upon  it  ? This  recalled  the  fact  that  a force-pump  had  been 
tried  several  years  before  in  Peking,  in  the  deep  wells  of  that 
city,  but  the  fine  sand  clogged  the  valves,  and  it  had  to  be 
pulled  up  again  ! In  view  of  these  various  considerations,  is 
it  surprising  that  the  somewhat  discouraged  shepherds  gave  up 
the  plan  of  interfering  with  Oriental  industries,  or  that  the 
obligation  to  the  village  was  finally  acknowledged  by  the  pay- 
ment of  a sum  of  money  which  they  used  ostensibly  for  the  re- 
pair of  the  rampart  around  the  village,  but  which  really  went 
nobody  knows  where  or  to  whom  ? 


VII 


THE  VILLAGE  SHOP 

*T*HE  Chinese  have  always  divided  themselves  into  the  four 
classes  of  scholars,  farmers,  workmen,  and  merchants. 
Considering  their  singular  penchant  for  trade,  it  is  a surprise  to 
find  them  putting  traders  at  the  foot  of  the  list. 

If  any  one  has  an  idea  that  the  life  of  a Chinese  dealer  is  an 
easy  one,  he  has  a very  inaccurate  idea  indeed,  and  the  smallest 
investigation  of  any  specific  case  will  be  sufficient  to  disabuse 
him  of  it.  Indeed  there  are  not  many  people  in  China  whose 
life  is  an  easy  one,  certainly  not  the  officials  and  the  rich,  who 
are  at  once  the  most  envied  and  the  most  misunderstood  per- 
sons in  the  empire. 

In  Shan-tung,  every  village  of  any  size  has  its  little  “tsa- 
huo-p‘u,”  or  shop  of  miscellaneous  goods.  It  is  not  at  all  like 
a huckster’s  shop  at  home,  for  the  goods  kept  are  not  intended 
to  be  disposed  of  at  once.  Many  of  them  may  remain  in  stock 
for  many  years,  but  they  will  probably  all  be  worked  off  at  last. 
Occidentals  often  suppose  that  the  Chinese  live  on  “curry  and 
rice.”  Very  few  people  in  Shan-tung  ever  tasted  rice  in  their 
lives,  but  there  is  generally  a small  quantity  kept  at  the  “ tsa- 
huo-p‘u  ” in  case  there  should  be  a call  for  use  at  feasts,  or  for 
the  sick.  There  is  a good  supply  of  red  paper  used  for  cards 
of  invitation,  and  white  paper  for  funeral  announcements,  the 
need  for  which  must  be  met  promptly,  without  waiting  for  a 
trip  to  a distant  market-town.  Besides  this  there  is  a large 
stock  of  fire-crackers  which  are  wanted  whenever  there  is  a 
feast-day,  a wedding  or  a funeral,  and  also  paper  money  and 
other  materials  for  the  idolatrous  ceremonies  which  these  occa- 


49 


5° 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


sions  involve.  There  are  many  other  kinds  of  wares,  for  there 
is  almost  nothing  for  which  a demand  may  not  be  made ; but 
the  greatest  profit  is  derived  from  the  articles  last  named. 

Let  not  the  reader,  inexpert  in  Chinese  affairs,  suppose  that 
the  keeper  of  the  “tsa-huo-p‘u  ” sits  all  day  in  a chair  await- 
ing customers,  or  spends  the  intervals  between  their  infrequent 
arrivals  in  playing  Chinese  fox  and  geese  or  chess.  He  does 
nothing  of  the  kind.  If  his  shop  is  a very  small  one  it  is  not 
tended  at  all,  but  simply  open  when  occasion  serves.  If  it  is  a 
larger  affair,  it  requires  the  time  of  more  than  one  person,  not 
to  tend  it  but  to  carry  on  the  rural  trade.  For  the  larger  part 
of  the  business  of  the  “ tsa-huo-p‘u  ” is  not  at  home,  but  at 
five-day  markets  all  about.  The  proprietors  of  some  shops 
take  their  wares  to  a fair  every  day  in  the  month,  on  the  first 
and  sixth  to  one  place,  on  the  second  and  seventh  to  another, 
on  the  third  and  eighth  to  another,  and  on  the  fifth  and  tenth 
to  still  another,  by  which  time  the  circle  is  completed. 

Going  to  one  of  these  markets  is  no  holiday  work.  It  is 
necessary  to  rise  either  at  daylight  or  before,  select  the  goods  to 
be  taken,  pack  them  carefully,  make  an  accurate  list  of  them, 
and  then  wheel  the  barrow  to  the  fair,  sometimes  over  very  bad 
roads  in  very  bad  weather.  Arrived  at  the  market-town  there 
are  no  stalls  or  booths  for  the  dealers  to  occupy,  but  each  plants 
himself  in  a spot  for  which  he  has  to  pay  a small  ground-rent 
to  the  owner,  who  is  always  on  hand  to  collect  this  rent.  All 
day  long  the  barrow  must  be  tended  assiduously,  bickering 
with  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men  and  women,  and  when  the 
people  have  begun  to  scatter,  the  articles  must  be  packed  up 
again,  and  the  barrow  wheeled  home. 

Then  comes  the  wearisome  taking  account  of  stock,  in  re- 
gard to  which  the  proprietor  is  exceedingly  particular.  In 
China  nobody  trusts  anybody  else,  for  the  excellent  reason  that 
he  is  aware  that  in  similar  circumstances  it  might  not  be  safe  to 
trust  himself.  Hence  the  owner  of  the  little  shop,  or  some  one 
who  represents  him,  looks  carefully  over  the  goods  brought  home 


Strings  of  Chinese  Cash. 


Preparing  the  Strings. 


THE  VILLAGE  SHOP 


5* 

and  compares  them  with  the  invoice  made  out  in  the  morning. 
This  is  a check  upon  the  temptation  to  sell  some  things  without 
giving  an  account  of  them.  The  sales  which  have  been  made 
during  the  day  are  for  small  sums  only,  and  as  all  the  cash  has 
to  be  counted  and  strung  on  hemp  cords  so  as  to  make  the  full 
string  of  1,000  cash  (or  500  in  some  parts  of  the  country), 
this  counting  and  stringing  of  the  money  takes  a great  deal  of 
time,  and  is  very  tiresome  work  when  done  by  the  quantity — 
though  this  remark  is  applicable  to  most  Chinese  occupations 
viewed  from  an  Occidental  point  of  view. 

The  employee  of  the  “tsa-huo-p‘u  ” gets  his  meals  when  he 
can,  which  is  after  he  has  finished  everything  which  his  em- 
ployer wants  him  to  do.  It  is  necessary  for  him  to  be  a rare 
hand  if  he  is  to  be  so  useful  that  he  will  not  be  sent  away  if 
business  is  slack  when  the  year  closes,  or  if  the  proprietor  gets 
better  service  from  some  one  else.  The  supply  of  labour  of 
every  description,  is  so  excessive,  that  it  is  very  hard  to  get  a 
place,  and  harder  still  to  keep  it. 

A country  villager  with  whom  the  writer  is  well  acquainted 
had  too  little  land  to  support  his  family,  so  he  accepted  the 
offer  of  a neighbour  to  help  him  with  the  business  which  he  had 
lately  undertaken.  This  consisted  of  sending  four  wheel- 
barrows daily  to  different  villages  to  sell  meat  at  the  markets. 
The  men  who  did  this  had  to  rise  long  before  daylight  in  order 
to  get  the  meat  ready,  that  is  to  cut  it  from  the  bones,  which 
are  disposed  of  at  a separate  rate.  The  weight  of  meat  on  each 
barrow  had  to  be  entered  and  also  the  weight  of  the  bones. 
On  the  return  of  the  barrows  at  night  it  was  necessary  to  weigh 
what  was  left  from  the  sales  and  compare  it  with  the  returns  of 
cash.  This  must  be  gone  through  with  for  each  barrow.  The 
assistant  to  the  meat-dealer  had  to  keep  in  all  fourteen  different 
account  books.  “But,”  we  said  to  him,  “after  the  barrows 
are  gone,  and  before  they  come  back,  there  must  be  a little  in- 
terval of  comparative  peace  in  which  you  can  do  what  you 
like?”  “Alas,  no,”  was  the  reply,  “it  takes  all  of  that  time 


52 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


to  balance  up  the  fourteen  entries  of  the  day  before;”  and 
judging  from  what  one  knows  of  Chinese  bookkeeping  the  time 
allowed  would  not  be  at  all  too  much.  Entries  in  Chinese  ac- 
count-books are  not  set  down  in  columns,  so  as  to  be  conveniently 
added,  but  strung  along  a page  like  stockings  on  a clothes-line. 
Each  entry  must  be  treated  by  itself  on  the  suan-pan  or  reckon- 
ing-board, and  there  is  no  check  against  errors.  Our  infor- 
mant was  so  tired  of  his  contract  that  he  seized  the  occasion  of 
a funeral  in  a family  with  which  he  was  connected,  and  which 
he  was  in  theory  bound  to  attend,  to  break  away  and  make  a 
brief  call  on  the  foreign  friend  who  had  generally  been  able  to 
sympathize  with  certain  of  his  previous  woes. 

A year  later  the  writer  met  him  again,  ascertained  that  he 
had  abandoned  the  intricate  bookkeeping  which  selling  meat 
appeared  to  involve,  for  another  kind  of  account-keeping  in  a 
well-to-do  family,  where  there  is  a good  deal  of  land  and  much 
resulting  activity.  He  was  asked  if  he  had  any  time  to  read 
his  book — of  which  he  seemed  to  be  fond — and  he  replied 
with  a decisive  negative.  Not  if  he  got  up  early?  No,  indeed, 
he  had  to  begin  work  the  minute  he  was  dressed.  Not  if  he 
went  to  bed  a little  later  ? Certainly  not ; he  had  to  go  to  bed 
late  as  it  was — no  time  then.  But  he  might  at  least  snatch  a 
little  leisure  while  he  was  eating.  “Far  from  it,”  was  the  re- 
sponse, “ the  woman  who  is  at  the  head  of  affairs  takes  that 
opportunity  to  consult  about  the  work.” 

In  the  case  of  firms  having  any  considerable  business,  after 
the  day’s  work  is  all  over,  the  clerks  are  liable  to  be  required 
to  spend  the  evening  in  untying  all  the  numerous  strings  of  cash 
that  have  come  in,  with  a view  to  the  discovery  of  any  rare  coins 
that  might  be  sold  at  a special  price.  All  is  fish  that  comes  to 
a Chinese  net,  and  sooner  or  later  there  is  very  little  that  does 
not  find  its  way  there  to  the  profit  of  its  owner.  If  the  time 
should  ever  come,  as  come  it  may,  when  the  far-distant  West 
comes  into  close  and  practical  competition  with  the  patient 
Chinese  for  the  right  to  exist,  one  or  the  other  will  be  behind- 


THE  VILLAGE  SHOP 


53 


hand  in  the  race  and  it  is  safe  to  venture  the  prediction  that  it 
will  not  be  the  Chinese  ! 

The  village  shop  keeps  different  kinds  of  weighing  poles  for 
buying  and  for  selling,  works  off  all  its  uncurrent  cash  and  bad 
bills  on  any  one  upon  whom  it  can  impose,  and  generally 
drives  a hard  bargain  with  those  who  deal  with  it,  who 
retaliate  in  kind  as  opportunity  offers.  But  as  elsewhere  in  this 
mixed  world,  much  depends  upon  the  individuality  of  its  head 
manager. 


VIII 


THE  VILLAGE  THEATRE 

^T'HAT  the  Chinese  are  extravagantly  fond  of  theatrical  rep- 
resentations,  is  well  known  to  all  who  live  in  China.  The 
Chinese  trace  the  origin  of  the  stage  to  the  times  of  the  Em- 
peror Ming  Huang,  of  the  T‘ang  Dynasty  (died  762)  who, 
under  an  alias,  is  supposed  to  be  worshipped  as  the  god  of  play- 
actors. It  is  a popular  saying  that  if  the  players  neglect  to  do 
homage  to  this  patron,  they  will  altogether  fail  in  their  repre- 
sentations, whatever  these  may  be. 

With  the  history  of  the  Chinese  stage,  we  have  in  this  con- 
nection no  concern.  According  to  the  Chinese  themselves,  it 
has  degenerated  from  its  ancient  function  of  a censor  in  morals, 
and  has  become  merely  a device  for  the  amusement  of  the 
people.  It  is  a remarkable  circumstance  that  while  the  Chinese 
as  a people  are  extravagantly  fond  of  theatrical  exhibitions  of 
all  sorts,  the  profession  of  play-actor  is  one  of  the  few  which 
debars  from  the  privileges  of  the  literary  examinations.  The 
reason  for  this  anomaly  is  said  to  be  the  degradation  of  the 
theatre  by  pandering  to  vitiated  or  even  licentious  tastes.  To 
what  extent  the  plays  ordinarily  acted  are  of  this  sort,  it  is  im- 
possible for  a foreigner  to  decide.  The  truth  seems  to  be  that 
the  general  (theoretical)  contempt  for  the  stage  and  its  actors 
in  China,  is  a product  of  the  moral  teachings  of  Confucianism, 
which  uncompromisingly  condemn  the  perversion  of  the  right 
uses  of  dramatic  representation.  But  while  this  (theoretical) 
view  is  the  one  which  is  constantly  met,  it  is  like  many  other 
Confucian  doctrines,  chiefly  remarkable  for  the  unanimity  with 
which  it  is  disregarded  in  practice. 

In  what  we  have  to  say  of  Chinese  theatres,  we  must  dis- 

54 


THE  VILLAGE  THEATRE 


55 


claim  any  knowledge  of  them  at  first  hand,  that  is  to  say,  by 
listening  to  acted  plays.  There  are  several  obstacles  to  the  ac- 
quisition of  such  knowledge  by  this  method,  even  were  other 
difficulties  lacking.  Most  Chinese  plays  are  laid  out  upon  so 
extravagant  a scale,  as  regards  time,  that  they  may  be  spread 
over  many  hours,  or  possibly  several  days.  The  most  inde- 
fatigable European  could  not  listen  to  the  entire  performance 
of  any  one  of  them,  without  becoming  utterly  exhausted.  The 
dialect  in  which  the  actors  speak  is  so  different  from  the  spoken 
language,  that  it  is  hard  to  form  an  idea  of  what  they  are  say- 
ing. The  tone  adopted  is  that  shrill  falsetto,  which  is  not  only 
fatiguing  to  an  Occidental  hearer,  but  almost  of  necessity  unin- 
telligible. 

When  to  these  embarrassments  are  added  the  excruciating 
music,  the  discomfort  attending  the  dense  crowds,  and  the  uni- 
versal confusion  which  is  an  invariable  concomitant  of  a Chinese 
theatre,  it  is  not  strange  that  these  representations  have  for 
Westerners  very  few  attractions,  after  the  first  glance  has  satis- 
fied curiosity.  This  indifference  on  our  part  is  almost  unintel- 
ligible to  the  Chinese.  That  a foreign  traveller,  who  is  told  of 
a theatre  in  full  blast  at  the  town  at  which  he  expects  to  spend 
the  night,  should  feel  no  joy,  but  should  deliberately  push  on 
so  as  to  avoid  spending  the  night  at  that  place — this  is  to  the 
Chinese  profoundly  incomprehensible. 

Except  in  a few  large  cities,  the  Chinese  have  no  theatres  in 
our  sense  of  the  term,  provided  with  seats  and  enclosed  by 
walls  and  roof.  The  stage  is  a very  simple  affair,  and  is  en- 
tirely open  to  inspection.  Sometimes  it  is  built  like  a temple 
with  an  open  front.  But  by  far  the  larger  part  of  the  rural  rep- 
resentations of  theatrical  companies  take  place  on  a tem- 
porary scaffolding  which  is  put  up  for  the  purpose  the  night 
before  the  plays  begin,  and  is  taken  down  the  moment  the  last 
play  closes.  The  players  resemble  their  ancient  Grecian  proto- 
types in  that  they  are  a migratory  band,  going  wherever  they 
are  able  to  find  an  engagement. 


56 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


The  stage  equipments,  like  the  stage  itself,  are  of  the  simplest 
order,  the  spectator  being  required  to  supply  by  his  imagination 
most  of  those  adjuncts  in  the  way  of  scenery,  which  in  our 
days,  are  carried  to  such  perfection  in  the  theatres  of  the  West. 
There  is  no  division  of  a play  into  separate  acts  or  scenes,  and 
what  cannot  be  inferred  from  the  dress,  or  the  pantomime 
of  the  actors,  they  must  expressly  tell  to  the  audience,  as  for 
example  who  they  are,  what  they  have  been  doing,  and  the 
like.  The  orchestra  is  an  indispensable  accompaniment  of  a 
theatrical  representation,  and  not  only  bursts  into  every  in- 
terval of  the  acting,  but  also  clangs  with  ferocity  at  such  stir- 
ring scenes  as  a battle  attack,  or  to  add  energy  to  any  ordinary 
event. 

Apropos  of  this  resemblance  between  the  Greek  stage  and 
the  Chinese,  which  must  have  struck  many  observers,  Mr.  H. 
E.  Krehbiel  (in  an  article  published  in  the  Century  for  January, 
1891)  has  declared  that  “the  Chinese  drama  is  to-day  in 
principle  a lyric  drama,  as  much  so  as  the  Greek  tragedy  was. 
The  moments  of  intense  feeling  are  accentuated,  not  merely  by 
accompanying  music,  as  in  our  melodrama,  but  by  the  actor 
breaking  out  into  song.  The  crudeness  and  impotency  of  the 
song  in  our  ears  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  argument.  It  is  a 
matter  of  heredity  in  taste.  ’ ’ 

The  village  theatrical  company  owes  its  existence  to  some 
rich  man,  who  selects  this  as  a form  of  investment.  As  all  the 
available  land  in  the  greater  portion  of  China  is  wholly  out  of 
the  market,  it  is  not  easy  for  one  who  has  more  money  than  he 
can  conveniently  use  to  decide  what  to  do  with  it.  If  he  should 
go  into  the  theatrical  business,  it  is  not  necessarily  writh  the  ex- 
pectation that  the  money  will  yield  him  a large  return,  but  in 
order  to  provide  a popular  amusement  for  a great  number  of 
people,  and  at  the  same  time  receive  a larger  or  smaller  interest 
on  the  amount  invested. 

The  person  whose  capital  is  used  in  the  costumes,  which  are 
the  main  part  of  the  outfit  of  a Chinese  theatre,  is  called  the 


THE  VILLAGE  THEATRE 


57 


“Master  of  the  chest.”  The  whole  outfit  may  be  leased  of 
him  by  an  association  of  persons,  who  pay  a fixed  sum  for  the 
use  of  the  costumes,  which  must  be  kept  in  good  condition.  In 
a first-class  theatre,  these  costumes  are  very  costly,  and  include 
what  are  called  “dragon  robes,”  and  “ python  robes,”  each 
with  double  sets  of  inner  garments,  of  fine  quality,  and  hand- 
somely embroidered.  Of  these  there  are  at  least  two  suits,  five 
suits  of  armour,  and  numberless  other  articles  of  clothing,  such 
as  trousers,  skirts,  boots,  buskins,  etc.  Another  “chest  ” con- 
tains the  accoutrements  of  the  players,  as  swords,  spears,  and 
the  like,  made  of  gilded  wood. 

The  value  of  all  these  various  equipments,  in  a well-furnished 
theatre,  is  said  to  be  fully  $5,000,  and  in  those  of  the  cheaper 
sorts,  two-thirds  or  half  as  much.  Each  of  the  three  “ chests  ” 
in  which  the  stage  accoutrements  are  stored,  is  in  charge  of 
three  men,  who  are  responsible  for  the  security  and  the  care  of 
the  contents  of  the  cases. 

The  players  are  divided  into  classes  which  are  called  by  dif- 
ferent names,  the  members  of  each  class  receiving  pay  accord- 
ing to  the  dignity  of  their  position.  There  are,  for  example, 
two  individuals,  one  civil  and  one  military,  who  represent  high- 
class  historical  characters,  like  Chiang  T‘ai-kung,  etc.  These 
actors  are  called  lao-sheng.  Another  class  styled  hu-sheng, 
represent  personages  like  Wen  Wang,  or  Chao  K‘uang-yin.  A 
third  class  are  assigned  to  characters  like  Lii  Pu,  etc.,  and 
these  players  are  called  hsiao-sheng.  In  addition  to  these  are 
persons  of  less  importance,  who  represent  ladies,  officials’ 
wives,  young  girls,  or  others.  After  these  come  what  may  be 
called  clowns,  who  are  termed  ‘ ‘ flowery-faced,  ’ ’ ( hua-lien ) 
subdivided  into  first,  second  and  third.  These  represent  the 
bad  characters,  such  as  Chou  Wang,  Ts'ao  Ts'ao,  and  the  like, 
down  to  the  lowest  class  who  take  the  most  despised  and  hate- 
ful parts  of  all.  In  addition  to  these  main  characters,  there  is 
a considerable  force  detailed  as  soldiers,  servants,  messengers, 
or  to  personify  boatmen,  innkeepers,  and  the  like.  The  rear 


58 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


is  brought  up  with  a large  staff  of  cooks,  water-carriers,  etc., 
whose  duty  it  is  to  provide  for  the  material  comfort  of  the 
players  in  their  vagrant  life. 

Aside  from  the  regular  theatrical  companies  one  frequently 
meets  with  companies  of  amateurs  who  have  inherited  the  art 
of  giving  performances  on  a small  scale  called  “ a little  theatre.” 
They  are  young  farmers  who  delight  in  the  change  and  excite- 
ment of  stage  life,  and  who  after  the  crops  are  harvested  are 
open  to  engagements  until  the  spring  work  begins.  There  may 
be  only  fifteen  or  twenty  in  the  band,  but  the  terms  are  low, 
and  the  food  furnished  them  much  better  than  they  would  have 
had  at  home,  and  when  the  season  is  over  they  may  be  able  to 
divide  a snug  little  sum  to  each  performer. 

The  manager,  or  lessee  of  the  theatrical  equipment,  is  called 
a chang-pan,  and  engages  the  players  for  a term  of  about  ten 
months,  beginning  early  in  the  spring,  and  ending  before  the 
close  of  the  year.  The  whole  company  may  number  between 
fifty  and  a hundred  men,  and  the  best  actors  may  be  engaged 
for  sums  ranging  from  the  equivalent  of  a hundred  dollars  for 
the  most  skilled,  down  to  a few  tens  of  dollars  for  the  inferior 
actors,  their  food  in  each  case  being  furnished.  It  is  thus  easy 
to  see  that  the  expense  of  maintaining  a theatre  is  a vast  drain 
upon  the  resources  of  the  lessee,  and  presupposes  a constant 
succession  of  profitable  engagements,  which  is  a presupposition 
not  infrequently  at  a great  remove  from  the  facts  of  ex- 
perience. 

The  lessee  of  the  theatre  supplies  himself  with  the  material 
for  the  development  of  actors,  by  taking  children  on  contract, 
or  apprenticeship,  for  a fixed  period  (often  three  years)  accord- 
ing to  a written  agreement.  At  the  end  of  their  apprenticeship, 
these  pupils  are  at  liberty  to  engage  in  any  company  which  they 
may  elect,  for  whatever  they  can  get,  but  during  their  term  of 
indenture,  their  time  belongs  to  the  man  who  has  leased  them 
of  their  parents.  The  motive  for  such  a contract  on  the  part 
of  the  parents,  is  to  secure  a support  for  the  children.  Some- 


THE  VILLAGE  THEATRE 


59 


times  children  run  away  from  home  and  make  engagements  on 
their  own  account,  attracted  by  the  supposed  freedom  of  the 
player’s  life. 

The  amount  which  each  child  receives  during  the  time  of  his 
apprenticeship,  is  the  merest  pittance,  and  it  is  said  that  in 
three  months  at  most  he  can  learn  all  that  it  is  necessary  for 
him  to  know.  A large  part  of  his  duties  will  be  to  strut  about 
on  the  stage,  and  mouth  more  or  less  unintelligible  sentences  in 
a grandiloquent  tone.  If  the  number  of  plays  in  which  he  ap- 
pears is  large,  the  tax  upon  the  memory  may  be  considerable, 
but  Chinese  children  can  learn  by  rote  with  amazing  facility, 
and  constant  practice  must  in  a short  time  fix  in  his  memory 
everything  which  the  young  actor  requires  to  remember. 

From  an  Occidental  point  of  view,  it  would  be  hard  to  ima- 
gine anything  more  remote  from  a life  of  pleasure,  than  the 
constant  locomotion,  routine  drudgery,  uncertain  and  inade- 
quate remuneration  of  the  average  Chinese  actor.  We  have 
never  met  one  who  did  not  admit  that  it  was  a bad  life.  A 
leading  Japanese  actor  is  quoted  as  saying  that  the  popular 
notions  in  regard  to  the  theatre  of  that  country — which  is  prob- 
ably in  many  respects  analogous  to  that  of  China — are  as  dif- 
ferent from  the  reality,  as  clouds  from  mud.  “ The  hardships 
endured  are  as  the  suffering  of  Hades,  and  the  world  is  not 
benefited  a fraction  by  the  actors’  exertion,  so  they  are  not 
useful  to  society.  It  is  a life  to  fear  and  to  dread.”  There 
are  probably  very  few  Chinese  actors  who  have  progressed  so 
far  as  to  entertain,  even  for  a moment,  the  thought  whether 
their  work  is  a good  or  an  evil  to  “ society.” 

It  is  not  uncommon  to  hear  of  an  exceptionally  intelligent 
District  Magistrate  who  issues  proclamations  strictly  forbidding 
theatrical  performances  within  his  jurisdiction,  exhorting  the 
people  to  save  their  funds  to  buy  grain  and  relieve  the  poor,  or 
to  set  up  public  schools.  But  the  only  way  to  enforce  these 
sensible  orders  of  an  unusually  paternal  official,  is  for  him  to 
make  constant  personal  inspection,  and  see  that  his  commands 


6o 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


are  heeded.  Otherwise,  a sum  of  money  judiciously  spent  at 
the  yamen,  will  buy  complete  immunity  from  punishment. 
Free  schools  and  charity  are  too  tame  for  the  taste  of  the  peo- 
ple, who  demand  something  “ hot-and-bustling,”  which  a the- 
atrical performance  most  decidedly  is. 

It  is  one  of  the  contradictions  which  abound  in  the  Chinese 
social  life,  that  while  play-actors  are  theoretically  held  in  very 
light  esteem,  the  representation  of  a play  is  considered  as  a 
great  honour  to  the  person  on  whose  behalf  it  is  furnished.  In- 
stances have  occurred  in  China,  in  which  such  a representation 
has  been  offered  by  the  Chinese  to  foreigners,  as  an  expression 
of  gratitude  for  help  received  in  time  of  famine.  The  motives 
in  such  cases,  however  were  probably  very  mixed,  being  com- 
posed largely  of  a desire  on  the  part  of  the  proposers  to  gratify 
their  own  tastes,  while  at  the  same  time  paying  off  in  a public 
manner  a technical  debt  of  gratitude. 

To  suggest  under  such  circumstances  that  the  money  which 
would  have  been  absorbed  in  the  expenses  of  the  theatre, 
should  rather  be  appropriated  to  the  purposes  of  some  public 
benefit,  such  as  a free-school,  would  not  commend  itself  to  one 
Chinese  in  a thousand.  Only  a limited  number  of  scholars 
could  receive  the  benefit  of  a free-school,  whereas  a theatre  is 
emphatically  for  everybody.  Moreover,  a theatre  is  demon- 
strative and  obtrusively  thrusts  itself  upon  the  attention  of  the 
general  public  in  a manner  which  to  the  Oriental  is  exceedingly 
precious,  while  to  set  up  a free-school  would  be  “ to  wear  a 
fine  garment  in  the  dark,”  when  no  one  would  know  the  dif- 
ference. 

The  occasion  for  the  performance  of  a play  is  sometimes  a 
vow,  which  may  have  been  made  by  an  individual  in  time  of 
sickness,  the  theatricals  to  be  the  expression  of  gratitude  for  re- 
covery. In  the  case  of  an  entire  village,  it  is  often  the  return- 
ing of  thanks  tc  some  divinity  for  a good  harvest,  or  for  a 
timely  rain.  A quarrel  between  individuals  is  frequently  com- 
posed by  the  adjudication  of  “peace-talkers”  that  one  of  the 


THE  VILLAGE  THEATRE 


61 


parties  shall  give  a theatrical  exhibition  by  way  of  a fine,  in  the 
benefits  of  which  the  whole  community  may  thus  partake.  In 
view  of  the  well-known  propensities  of  the  Chinese,  it  is  not 
strange  that  this  method  of  adjusting  disputes  is  very  popular. 
We  have  known  it  to  be  adopted  by  a District  Magistrate  in 
settling  a lawsuit  between  two  villages,  and  such  cases  are  prob- 
ably not  uncommon. 

Sometimes  there  is  no  better  reason  for  holding  a theatre 
than  that  a sum  of  public  money  has  accumulated,  which  there 
is  no  other  way  to  spend.  A foreigner  could  easily  propose 
fifty  purposes  to  which  the  funds  could  be  appropriated  to 
much  better  advantage,  but  to  the  Chinese  these  suggestions 
always  appear  untimely,  not  to  say  preposterous. 

When  it  has  been  determined  to  engage  a theatre,  the  first 
step  is  to  draw  up  a written  agreement  with  the  manager,  speci- 
fying the  price.  This  will  vary  from  a sum  equivalent  to 
twenty-five  dollars,  up  to  several  hundred  dollars.  The  former 
amount  is,  indeed,  a bottom  price,  and  would  be  offered  only 
to  a very  inferior  company,  which  might  be  forced  to  accept  it, 
or  even  a less  sum,  as  better  in  a slack  season  than  no  engage- 
ment at  all.  During  the  time  of  the  year,  on  the  contrary,  in 
which  the  demand  for  theatricals  is  at  the  maximum,  a com- 
pany may  have  offers  from  several  villages  at  once.  Rather 
than  lose  the  double  profit  to  be  made,  the  troupe  is  often  di- 
vided, and  a number  of  amateurs  engaged  to  take  the  vacant 
places,  thus  enabling  the  company  to  be  in  two  places  at  the 
same  date. 

It  is  a common  proverb  that  the  country  villager  who  wit- 
nesses a theatre,  sees  only  a great  hubbub,  a generalisation 
strictly  within  the  truth.  It  is  upon  this  ignorance  of  the 
villager  that  the  theatrical  manager  presumes  when  he  furnishes 
an  inferior  representation,  instead  of  the  one  for  which  his  con- 
tract calls.  But  if  the  villager  ascertains  the  fraud,  consisting 
either  in  deficiency  of  players  or  inferior  acting,  he  rises  in 
democratic  majesty,  and  “ fines”  the  company  an  extra  day  or 


62 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


two,  or  even  three  days,  of  playing  as  a penalty,  and  from  this 
decision  it  would  be  vain  to  appeal. 

The  individual  who  communicates  with  the  village  which 
hires  the  theatrical  company,  and  who  receives  the  money,  is 
called  the  program  bearer  (“ pao-tan  ti”).  The  scorn  in 
which  theatrical  folk  are  supposed  to  be  held,  appears  to  be  re- 
served for  this  one  individual  alone.  He  makes  arrangements 
for  the  conveyance  of  all  the  trunks  containing  the  equipment 
from  the  previous  place  of  playing,  to  the  next  one,  and  espe- 
cially for  the  transportation  of  the  staging. 

In  inland  regions,  where  it  is  necessary  to  use  animals,  it  re- 
quires a great  many  carts  to  move  about  so  much  lumber,  which 
must  be  done  with  great  expedition  in  order  not  to  waste  a day, 
at  a time  when  engagements  are  numerous ; and,  even  to  a Chi- 
nese, time  is  precious,  because  the  food  and  pay  of  so  many 
persons  have  to  be  taken  into  the  account.  The  carts  for  this 
hauling  are  provided  by  the  village  which  is  to  enjoy  the  ex- 
hibition, being  often  selected  by  lot.  Sometimes,  however,  a 
small  tax  is  levied  on  all  the  land  in  the  village,  and  the  carts 
are  hired. 

The  day  previous  to  a theatre  in  any  village  is  a busy  one. 
Great  quantities  of  mats  are  provided,  and  in  a short  time 
some  barren  spot  on  the  outskirts  of  the  hamlet  begins  to  as- 
sume the  appearance  of  an  impromptu  settlement ; for  aside 
from  the  theatre  itself,  great  numbers  of  small  mat-sheds  are  put 
up  to  be  used  for  cook-shops,  tea-shops,  gambling-booths,  and  the 
like.  During  the  day,  even  if  the  village  is  but  a small  one, 
the  appearance  is  that  of  the  scene  of  a very  large  fair. 

In  the  larger  towns,  where  fairs  are  held  at  more  or  less 
regular  intervals,  it  is  usual,  as  already  mentioned,  to  begin 
them  with  a theatrical  exhibition,  on  the  first  day  of  which 
hardly  any  business  will  be  done,  the  attendants  being  mainly 
occupied  in  gazing  at  or  listening  to  the  play.  In  such  cases 
the  attendants  can  frequently  be  safely  estimated  at  more 
than  10,000  persons.  In  large  fairs  there  is  generally  a per- 


THE  VILLAGE  THEATRE 


63 


formance  every  day  as  long  as  the  fair  holds,  an  arrangement 
which  is  found  to  be  very  remunerative  from  a financial  point 
of  view  in  attracting  attendance,  and  therefore  customers. 

From  a social  point  of  view,  the  most  interesting  aspect  of 
Chinese  village  theatricals  is  the  impression  which  is  produced 
upon  the  people  as  a whole.  This  impression  may  be  feebly 
likened  to  that  which  is  made  upon  children  in  Western  lands, 
by  the  immediate  imminence  of  Christmas,  or  in  the  United 
States  by  the  advent  of  a Fourth  of  July.  To  theatrical  holi- 
days in  China  every  other  mundane  interest  must  give  way. 

As  soon  as  it  is  certain  that  a particular  village  is  to  have  a 
theatre,  the  whole  surrounding  country  is  thrown  into  a quiver 
of  excitement.  Visits  by  young  married  women  to  their  moth- 
ers’ homes,  always  occasions  to  both  mothers  and  daughters 
of  special  importance,  are  for  a long  time  beforehand  arranged 
with  sole  reference  to  the  coming  great  event.  All  the  schools 
in  all  the  neighbouring  villages  expect  at  such  times  a holiday 
during  the  whole  continuance  of  the  theatricals.  Should  the 
teacher  be  so  obstinate  as  to  refuse  it  (which  would  never  be 
the  case,  as  he  himself  wishes  to  see  the  play)  that  circum- 
stance would  make  no  difference,  for  he  would  find  himself 
wholly  deserted  by  all  his  pupils. 

It  is  not  only  brides  who  take  advantage  of  this  occasion  to 
visit  their  relatives,  but  in  general  it  may  be  said  that  when  a 
village  gives  a theatrical  representation,  it  must  count  upon 
being  visited,  during  the  continuance  of  the  same,  by  every 
man,  woman  and  child,  who  is  related  to  any  inhabitant  of  the 
village  and  who  can  possibly  be  present.  Every  Chinese  family 
has  a perfect  swarm  of  relatives  of  all  degrees,  and  the  time 
of  a theatrical  performance  is  an  excellent  opportunity  to  look 
in  upon  one’s  friends.  Whether  these  friends  and  relatives 
have  been  invited  or  not,  will  make  no  difference.  In  the  case 
of  ordinary  villagers,  the  visitors  would  come  even  if  they  knew 
for  certain  that  they  were  not  wanted. 

It  has  frequently  been  remarked  that  hospitality  as  such  can- 


64 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


not  be  said  to  be  a characteristic  Chinese  virtue,  although  there 
is  at  all  times  such  a parade  of  it.  But  whatever  one’s  feelings 
may  be,  it  is  necessary  to  keep  up  the  pretence  of  overflowing 
hospitality,  so  that  whoever  comes  to  the  yard  must  be  pressed 
to  stay  to  a meal  and  to  spend  the  night,  however  anxious  the 
host  may  be  to  get  rid  of  him.  On  ordinary  occasions,  guests 
will  not  stay  without  such  an  amount  of  urging  as  may  suffice 
to  show  that  the  invitation  is  bond  fide , but  during  the  contin- 
uance of  a theatre  it  often  makes  very  little  difference  how 
lacking  the  host  may  be  in  cordiality,  the  guests  will  probably 
decide  to  stay,  as  the  play  must  be  seen. 

It  is  by  no  means  an  uncommon  thing  to  find  that  in  a vil- 
lage which  has  engaged  a theatrical  troupe,  every  family  is 
overrun  with  such  visitors,  to  such  a degree  that  there  is  not 
space  enough  for  them  to  lie  down  at  night,  so  that  they  are 
forced  to  spend  it  in  sitting  up  and  talking,  which  may  be  easily 
conceived  to  be  an  excellent  preparation  for  the  fatiguing  duties 
of  the  morrow.  As  a theatre  seldom  lasts  less  than  three  days, 
and  sometimes  more  than  four,  it  can  be  imagined  what  a tax 
is  laid  upon  the  village  which  is  overrun.  When  it  is  consid- 
ered that  every  married  woman  who  returns  to  her  home,  as 
well  as  every  woman  who  visits  any  relative,  always  brings  all 
of  her  young  children,  and  that  the  latter  consider  it  their 
privilege  to  scramble  for  all  that  they  can  get  of  whatever  is 
to  be  had  in  the  way  of  food,  it  is  obvious  that  the  poor  house- 
keeper is  subjected  to  a tremendous  strain,  to  which  the  severest 
exigencies  of  Western  life  afford  very  few  analogies. 

The  cost  of  feeding  such  an  army  of  visitors  is  a very  serious 
one,  and  to  the  thrifty  Chinese  it  seems  hard  that  fuel  which 
would  ordinarily  last  his  family  for  six  months,  must  be  burnt 
up  in  a week,  to  “ roast  ” water,  and  cook  food  for  people  whom 
he  never  invited,  and  most  of  whom  he  never  wished  to  see. 
It  is  a moderate  estimate  that  the  expense  of  entertainment  is 
ten  times  the  cost  of  the  theatre  itself,  realizing  the  familiar 
saying  that  it  is  not  the  horse  which  costs  but  the  saddle. 


THE  VILLAGE  THEATRE 


65 


The  vast  horde  of  persons  who  are  attracted  to  the  village 
which  has  a theatre,  has  among  its  numbers  many  disreputable 
characters,  against  whom  it  is  necessary  for  the  villagers  to  be 
constantly  upon  their  guard.  For  this  reason,  as  well  as  on  ac- 
count of  the  necessity  for  being  on  hand  to  took  after  the 
swarms  of  guests,  the  people  of  the  village  have  little  or  no 
opportunity  to  see  the  play  themselves.  Guests  and  thieves 
occupy  all  their  time  ! Eternal  vigilance  is  the  price  at  which 
one’s  property  is  to  be  protected,  and  the  more  one  has  to  lose, 
the  less  he  will  be  able  to  enjoy  himself,  until  the  danger  is 
over.  It  is  a common  observation  that,  after  a theatrical  per- 
formance, there  is  not  likely  to  be  a single  chicken  left  in  a 
village.  To  prevent  them  from  being  stolen  by  the  expert 
chicken-thieves,  the  villagers  must  dispose  of  their  fowls  in 
advance. 

Such  being  the  conditions  under  which  the  Chinese  village 
theatre  is  held,  it  is  surprising  that  so  great  a number  of  theat- 
rical troupes  contrive  to  make  a living — such  as  it  is — out  of 
so  precarious  an  occupation,  which  is  likely  to  fail  altogether 
during  years  of  famine  or  flood  (never  few  in  number),  and 
also  during  the  whole  of  each  period  of  imperial  mourning, 
when  actors  are  often  reduced  to  extreme  misery.  One  reason 
for  their  passionate  attachment  to  the  theatre,  must  be  found  in 
the  fact  that  for  the  Chinese  people  there  are  very  few 
available  amusements,  and  for  the  mass  of  the  country  people 
there  is  literally  nothing  to  which  they  can  look  forward  as  a 
public  recreation,  except  a few  feast  days  (often  only  two  or 
three  in  the  year),  the  large  fairs  with  accompanying  theatric- 
als, or  theatricals  without  fairs. 

It  is  evident  that  a form  of  exhibition  which  is  so  much 
valued  by  the  Chinese,  may  become  an  important  agency  in  in- 
flaming the  minds  of  the  people.  This  is  at  times  undoubtedly 
the  case.  Many  instances  have  come  to  the  knowledge  of 
foreigners,  in  which  theatricals  representing  the  Tientsin  mas- 
sacre or  some  similar  event,  have  been  acted  in  the  interior  of 


66 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


China.  In  some  cases  this  is  doubtless  done  with  the  conniv- 
ance of  the  magistrates,  and  it  is  easy  to  see  that  the  effect 
upon  the  minds  of  the  people  must  be  very  unfavourable,  if  it 
is  held  to  be  desirable  to  maintain  among  the  Chinese  respect 
for  foreigners. 

In  China,  as  in  other  lands,  it  is  easy  for  theatrical  represen- 
tations to  deal  with  current  events  which  have  a general  interest. 
In  a certain  case  of  warfare  involving  two  different  Counties,  as 
to  the  right  to  make  a bank  to  prevent  inundation,  several  lives 
were  lost  and  a formidable  lawsuit  resulted.  The  occurrences 
were  of  such  a dramatic  character  that  they  were  woven  into  a 
play,  which  was  very  popular  at  a little  distance  from  the  scene 
of  the  original  occurrence. 

The  representation  of  historical  events,  by  Chinese  theatres, 
may  be  said  to  be  one  of  the  greatest  obstacles  to  the  acquisi- 
tion of  historical  knowledge  by  the  people.  Few  persons  read 
histories,  while  every  one  hears  plays,  and  while  the  history  is 
forgotten  because  it  is  dull,  the  play  is  remembered  because  it 
is  amusing.  Theatricals,  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  remark,  do 
not  deal  with  historical  events  from  the  standpoint  of  accuracy, 
but  from  that  of  adaptation  to  dramatic  effect.  The  result  is 
the  greatest  confusion  in  the  minds  of  the  common  people,  both 
as  to  what  has  really  happened  in  the  past,  and  as  to  when  it 
took  place,  and  for  all  practical  purposes,  fact  and  fiction  are 
indistinguishable. 

Among  the  most  popular  Chinese  plays,  are  those  which  deal 
with  everyday  life,  in  its  practical  forms.  Cheap  and  badly 
printed  books,  in  the  forms  of  tracts,  containing  the  substance 
of  these  plays,  are  everywhere  sold  in  great  numbers,  and  aid 
in  familiarizing  the  people  with  the  plots. 

Our  notice  of  the  Chinese  drama  may  fitly  conclude  with  a 
synopsis  of  one  of  these  librettos,  which  contains  a play  of 
general  celebrity,  to  which  references  are  constantly  made  in 
popular  speech.  It  is  said  to  have  been  composed  by  a native 
of  Shan-hsi,  and  is  designed  as  a satire  upon  the  condition  of 


THE  TILLAGE  THEATRE 


67 


society  in  -which,  as  so  often  in  China  at  the  present  day, 
it  is  almost  impossible  for  a teacher,  theoretically  the  most 
honoured  of  beings,  to  keep  himself  from  starvation. 

It  is  a current  proverb  that  in  the  province  of  Shan-tung,  the 
number  of  those  who  wish  to  teach  school  is  in  excess  of  those 
who  can  read  ! The  scene  of  this  play  is  therefore  appropri- 
ately laid  in  the  land  of  the  sages  Confucius  and  Mencius,  and 
in  a district  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  capital,  Chi-nan  Fu. 

The  characters  are  only  two  in  number,  a teacher  called  Ho 
Hsien-sheng  who  is  out  of  employment,  and  reduced  to  ex- 
treme distress,  and  a patron  named  Li,  who  wishes  to  engage  a 
master  for  his  boys,  aged  nine  and  eleven.  The  teacher’s  re- 
marks are  mixed  with  extensive  quotations  from  the  Classics,  as 
is  the  manner  of  Chinese  schoolmasters,  who  wish  to  convey 
an  impression  of  their  great  learning.  He  affirms  that  his  suc- 
cess in  instruction  is  such  that  he  will  guarantee  that  his  pupils 
shall  reach  the  first  degree  of  hsiu-ts‘ai,  or  Bachelor,  in  three 
years,  the  second  of  chii  jen,  or  Master,  in  six,  and  attain  to 
the  eminence  of  chin-shih,  or  Doctor,  in  twelve. 

The  teacher  begins  by  a poetical  lament  that  he  had  lost  his 
place  as  a teacher,  and  that  a scholar  so  situated  is  far  worse  off 
than  a handicraftsman,  who,  he  says,  has  always  enough  to  eat. 
After  this,  the  teacher  comes  on  the  stage,  crying  out  like  a 
peddler,  “ Teach  School ! Teach  School ! ” Upon  this  Li 
comes  forward,  suggests  that  a man  who  offers  to  teach  prob- 
ably knows  at  least  how  to  read,  and  explains  that  he  feels  the 
need  of  some  one  in  the  family  who  can  decipher  the  tax  bills, 
etc.,  but  that  he  really  cannot  afford  the  expense  of  a teacher 
for  his  children. 

He  explains  that  his  boys  are  dull,  that  the  food  of  the 
teacher — the  bill  of  fare  of  which  he  details — will  be  poor  and 
coarse.  There  will  be  only  two  meals  a day,  to  save  expense, 
and  at  night  there  will  be  no  fire.  The  coverlet  is  a torn  dog- 
skin, no  mat  on  the  bed,  only  a little  straw,  and  no  pillow. 
The  salary  is  to  be  but  8,000  cash  a year,  but  this  is  subject  to 


68 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


a discount,  800  counting  for  1,000.  The  teacher  is  never  to 
leave  the  schoolyard  while  school  is  in  session. 

The  school  will  be  held  in  a temple,  hitherto  occupied  by 
nuns.  These  will  be  removed  to  a side  room,  and  the  teacher 
will  be  required  to  strike  the  bell,  sweep  out  the  building,  and 
perform  the  other  necessary  services  on  the  first  and  fifteenth 
of  each  month,  and  these  duties  must  be  executed  with  punc- 
tilious care.  He  is  also  cautioned  not  to  allow  his  morals  to  be 
contaminated  by  the  nuns  whose  reputation  is  so  proverbially 
bad.  None  of  his  salary  will  be  paid  in  advance,  and  a pro 
rata  deduction  will  be  made  for  every  day  of  absence.  During 
the  summer  rains  the  teacher  must  carry  the  children  to  school 
upon  his  back,  that  they  may  not  spoil  their  clothes  and  make 
their  mother  trouble.  Whenever  school  has  been  dismissed, 
the  teacher  is  to  carry  water,  work  on  the  threshing  floor,  take 
care  of  the  children,  grind  in  the  mill,  and  do  all  and  every- 
thing which  may  be  required  of  him.  To  all  the  foregoing 
conditions,  the  teacher  cheerfully  assents,  and  declares  himself 
ready  to  sign  an  agreement  upon  these  terms  for  the  period  of 
ten  years ! 

Perhaps  the  most  instructive  aspect  of  Chinese  theatricals,  is 
that  which  takes  account  of  them  as  indices  to  the  theory  of 
life  which  they  best  express,  a theory  in  which  most  Chinese  are 
firm,  albeit  unconscious,  believers.  It  is  a popular  saying  that 
“ The  whole  world  is  only  a stageplay;  why  then  should  men 
take  life  as  real?”  It  is  in  strict  accordance  with  this  view, 
that  the  Chinese  frequently  appear  as  if  psychologically 
incapable  of  discriminating  between  practical  realities  which  are 
known  to  be  such,  and  theoretical  “realities”  which,  if  mat- 
ters are  pushed  to  extremities,  are  admitted  to  be  fictitious. 

The  spectacular  theory  of  life  is  never  for  a moment  lost 
sight  of  in  China,  and  it  demands  a tribute  which  is  freely,  un- 
consciously, continually,  and  universally  paid.  It  is  upon  this 
theory  that  a large  proportion  of  Chinese  revelling  is  based,  the 
real  meaning  being,  “You  have  wronged  me,  but  I am  not 


THE  VILLAGE  THEATRE 


69 


afraid  of  you,  and  I call  upon  all  men  to  witness  that  I defy 
you.”  It  is  this  theory  upon  which  are  grounded  nine-tenths 
of  the  acts  which  the  Chinese  describe  as  being  done  “to  save 
face,”  that  is,  to  put  the  actor  right  with  the  spectators,  and  to 
prove  to  them  that  he  is  able  to  play  his  part  and  that  he  knows 
well  what  that  part  is.  Never,  surely,  was  it  more  true  of  any 
land  than  of  China,  that 


“ All  the  world’s  a stage, 

And  all  the  men  and  women  merely  players.’ 


IX 


VILLAGE  SCHOOLS  AND  TRAVELLING  SCHOLARS 

* | 'HE  prominent  place  given  to  education  in  China  renders 
the  Chinese  village  school  an  object  of  more  than  com- 
mon interest,  for  it  is  here  that  by  far  the  greater  number  of 
the  educated  men  of  the  empire  receive  their  first  intellectual 
training.  While  the  schools  of  one  district  may  be  a little  bet- 
ter or  worse  than  those  of  another,  there  is  probably  no  country 
in  the  world  where  there  is  so  much  uniformity  in  the  stand- 
ards of  instruction,  and  in  all  its  details,  as  in  China. 

There  are  in  the  Chinese  Classics  several  passages  which 
throw  an  interesting  light  upon  the  views  which  have  been 
handed  down  from  antiquity  in  regard  to  the  education  'of  chil- 
dreni  One  of  these  is  found  in  the  writings  of  Mencius.  Upon 
one  occasion  he  was  asked  why  the  superior  man  does  not 
teach  his  own  son.  To  this  Mencius  replied  that  the  circum- 
stances of  the  case  forbid  it.  The  teacher  should  inculcate 
what  is  correct.  When  he  does  so,  and  his  lessons  are  not 
practiced,  he  follows  it  up  by  being  angry.  Thus  he  is  alienated 
from  his  son  who  complains  to  himself  that  his  father  teaches 
one  thing  and  practices  another.  As  a result  the  estrangement 
becomes  mutual  and  deepens.  Between  father  and  son,  said 
Mencius,  there  should  be  no  reproving  admonitions  to  what  is 
good,  because  these  lead  to  such  alienations.  The  ancients,  he 
declared,  exchanged  sons,  and  one  taught  the  son  of  another. 

Another  significant  passage  is  found  in  the  Confucian  Ana- 
lects, and  is  as  follows,  quoting,  as  before,  Dr.  Legge’s  transla- 
tion, “Ch‘£n  K'ang  asked  Po  Yu,  the  son  of  Confucius,  say- 
ing, ‘ Have  you  heard  any  lessons  from  your  father,  different 

70 


VILLAGE  SCHOOLS  AND  TRAVELLING  SCHOLARS  71 


from  what  we  have  all  heard  ? ’ Po  Yii  replied,  * No ; he  was 
once  standing  alone  when  I hurriedly  passed  below  the  hall,  and 
he  said  to  me,  “ Have  you  learned  the  Odes  ? ” on  my  replying, 
“not  yet,”  he  added,  “If  you  do  not  learn  the  Odes,  you  will 
not  be  fit  to  converse  with.”  I retired  and  studied  the  Odes. 
Another  day  he  was  in  the  same  way  standing  alone,  when  I 
hastily  passed  below  the  hall,  and  he  said  to  me,  “Have  you 
learned  the  Rules  of  Propriety  ? ” on  my  replying,  “ not  yet,”  he 
added,  “If  you  do  not  learn  the  Rules  of  Propriety,  your  char- 
acter cannot  be  established.”  I then  retired  and  studied  the 
Rules  of  Propriety.  I have  heard  only  these  two  things  from 
him.’  Ch'en  K‘ang  retired,  delighted,  saying,  ‘ I asked 
about  one  thing,  and  I have  got  three  things.  I have  heard 
about  the  Odes,  I have  heard  about  the  Rules  of  Propriety,  and 
I have  heard  that  the  superior  man  maintains  a distant  reserve 
toward  his  son.’  ” 

Confucius  was  a master  who  felt  himself  to  be  in  possession 
of  great  truths  of  which  his  age  was  in  deep  need,  and  he  of- 
fered his  instructions  to  rich  and  poor  alike,  upon  the  sole  con- 
dition of  receptivity.  “ I do  not  open  up  the  truth,”  he  said, 
“to  one  who  is  not  eager  to  get  knowledge,  nor  help  out  any 
one  who  is  not  anxious  to  explain  himself.  When  I have  pre- 
sented one  corner  of  a subject  to  any  one,  and  he  cannot  from 
it  learn  the  other  three,  I do  not  repeat  the  lesson.”  For  aught 
that  appears,  the  son  of  Confucius  was  wholly  dependent  for 
whatever  he  knew  or  received,  upon  his  father.  According  to 
Confucius,  an  acquaintance  with  the  Odes,  and  with  the  Rules 
of  Propriety,  form  a very  considerable  part  of  the  equipment  of 
a scholar.  They  embrace  such  subjects  as  could  be  compre- 
hended and  assimilated,  one  would  suppose,  only  by  the  as- 
sistance of  a competent  teacher.  That  in  the  education  of  his 
own  son,  Confucius  should  have  contented  himself  with  a 
casual  question,  and  a single  hint,  as  to  the  pursuit  of  those 
branches  which  were  in  his  eyes  of  preeminent  importance,  is  a 
circumstance  so  singular  that  if  it  were  not  handed  down  upon 


72 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


the  same  authority  as  the  other  facts  in  the  life  of  the  sage,  we 
might  be  disposed  to  doubt  its  credibility. 

The  theory  upon  which  the  master  acted  is  happily  epito- 
mized by  Ch‘en  K‘ang — “distant  reserve.”  Even  to  his  own 
son  the  superior  man  is  a higher  grade  of  being,  whose  slightest 
word  contains  fruitful  seeds  of  instruction.  He  expects  his 
pupil  to  act  upon  a hint  as  if  it  were  the  formal  announcement 
of  a law  of  nature.  He  is  the  sun  around  whom  his  planets  re- 
volve, in  orbits  proportioned  to  the  force  of  the  central  attrac- 
tion— an  attraction  which  varies  with  the  capacity  to  be  at- 
tracted. Yet  in  every  case  there  is  a point  beyond  which  no 
pupil  can  go,  he  must  not  come  too  near  his  sun. 

According  to  Occidental  thought,  the  ideal  of  teaching  is 
exemplified  in  the  methods  of  such  educators  as  Dr.  Arnold, 
of  Rugby,  whose  stimulating  influence  was  felt  over  an  entire 
generation.  Upon  the  plan  of  Confucius  it  is  difficult  to  see, 
not  how  he  could  have  won  the  love  of  his  pupils — which  was 
probably  remote  from  his  thought  and  from  theirs — but  how  he 
could  have  permanently  impressed  himself  upon  any  except  the 
very  apt.  Few  are  the  pupils,  we  may  be  sure,  who  after  a 
chance  question  and  a remark  will  retire  and  study  unaided  a 
branch  of  learning  which,  they  are  told,  will  enable  them  to 
converse,  or  to  “establish  ” their  characters. 

Contrast  with  this  method  of  Confucius  that  of  James  Mill, 
as  detailed  in  the  autobiography  of  his  son,  John  Stuart  Mill. 
Here  was  a father,  not  a professional  philosopher,  but  a man  of 
business,  who  amid  the  composition  of  historical  and  other 
works,  found  time  to  superintend  the  education  of  his  son  from 
the  days  of  earliest  infancy  until  mature  manhood,  not  in  the 
ancient  language  only,  but  in  history,  philosophy,  political 
economy,  composition,  and  even  in  elocution,  and  all  with 
comprehensiveness  of  plan,  a labourious  and  unwearying  persist- 
ence in  teaching  principles  and  not  rules,  combined  with  scru- 
pulous fidelity  in  minutest  details.  By  this  patient  assiduity  and 
his  father’s  skillful  direction,  Mill  was  given  a start  over  his 


VILLAGE  SCHOOLS  AND  TRAVELLING  SCHOLARS  73 


contemporaries,  as  he  himself  remarks,  of  at  least  a quarter  of 
a century,  and  became  one  of  the  most  remarkably  educated 
men  of  whom  we  have  any  record.  One  could  wish  that  to 
his  “imaginary  conversations  of  literary  men  and  statesmen,” 
Walter  Savage  Landor  had  added  a chapter  giving  a dia- 
logue between  Confucius  and  James  Mill,  “on  distant  reserve 
as  a factor  in  the  education  of  sons.” 

It  is  far  from  being  the  fact  that  every  Chinese  village  has 
school,  but  it  is  doubtless  true  that  every  village  would  like  to 
have  one,  for  there  is  everywhere  the  most  profound  reverence 
for  “instruction.”  The  reasons  given  for  the  absence  of  a 
school  are  always  that  the  village  is  too  poor,  or  too  small,  or 
both. 

In  China  every  educated  man  is  a potential  schoolmaster, 
and  most  of  those  who  have  the  opportunity  to  do  so  take  a 
school.  It  is  one  of  the  allegorical  sayings  of  the  flowery  land 
that  “in  the  ink-slab  fields  there  are  no  bad  crops,”  which 
signifies  that  literature  is  a vocation  standing  upon  a firmer 
basis  than  any  other.  This  is  the  theory.  As  a matter  of  fact 
the  Chinese  teacher  is  often  barely  able  to  keep  soul  and  body 
together,  and  is  frequently  obliged  to  borrow  garments  in  which 
to  appear  before  his  patrons.  His  learning  may  have  fitted 
him  to  teach  a school,  or  it  may  not.  It  has  completely  unfitted 
him  to  do  anything  else.  It  is  therefore  a period  of  great  anx- 
iety to  the  would-be  pedagogue  when  the  school  cards  are  in 
preparation. 

“ When  the  ground  is  clean,  and  the  threshing-floor  bare, 

The  teacher’s  heart  is  filled  with  care,” 

says  the  proverb,  and  another  adage  is  current,  to  the  effect 
that  if  one  has  a few  bags  of  grain  on  hand,  he  is  not  obliged  to 
be  king  over  children. 

To  the  enormous  oversupply  of  school-teachers,  it  is  due  that 
one  of  the  most  honourable  of  callings  is  at  the  same  time  one 


74 


TILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


of  the  most  ill-paid.  Teachers  of  real  ability,  or  who  have  in 
some  way  secured  a great  reputation,  are  able  to  command  sal- 
aries in  proportion  ; but  the  country  schoolmaster,  who  can 
compete  for  a situation  within  a very  small  area  only,  is  often 
remunerated  with  but  a mere  pittance — an  allowance  of  grain 
supposed  to  be  adequate  for  his  food,  a supply  of  dried  stalks 
for  fuel,  and  a sum  in  money,  frequently  not  exceeding  ten 
Mexican  dollars  for  the  year.  It  is  not  very  uncommon  to 
meet  teachers  who  have  but  one  or  two  pupils,  and  who  receive 
for  their  services  little  or  nothing  more  than  their  food.  To 
the  natural  inquiry  whether  it  was  worth  his  while  to  teach  for 
such  a slender  compensation,  a schoolmaster  of  this  class  re- 
plied, that  it  was  better  than  staying  at  home  with  nothing  to 
eat.  It  is  a current  saying  that  the  rich  never  teach  school, 
and  the  poor  never  attend  one — though  to  this  there  are  excep- 
tions. It  is  a strange  fact  that  one  occasionally  meets  school- 
masters who  have  never  studied  anything  beyond  the  Four 
Books,  and  who  therefore  know  nothing  of  the  Five  Classics,  an 
outfit  comparable  to  that  of  a Western  teacher  who  should  only 
have  perused  his  arithmetic  as  far  as  simple  division  ! 

The  proposition  to  have  a school  is  made  by  the  parents  of 
the  children,  and  when  it  is  ascertained  that  a sufficient  num- 
ber of  names  can  be  secured,  these  are  entered  on  a red  card, 
called  a school  list  ( kuan-tan ).  This  is  generally  prepared  by 
the  time  of  the  winter  solstice  (December  21st),  though  some- 
times the  matter  is  left  in  abeyance  until  the  very  end  of  the 
year,  some  six  weeks  later.  On  the  other  hand,  in  some  regions, 
it  is  customary  to  have  the  school  card  ready  by  the  15  th  of  the 
eighth  moon,  some  time  in  August  or  September.  The  choice 
of  a teacher,  like  many  other  things  Chinese,  is  very  much  a 
matter  of  chance.  It  seems  to  be  rather  uncommon  that  a 
scholar  should  teach  in  his  own  village,  though  this  does  often 
happen.  The  reason  generally  given  for  this  is  that  it  is  incon- 
venient for  the  pupils  to  be  too  near  an  ex-preceptor  who  may 
make  demands  upon  them  in  later  years.  Sometimes  the  same 


VILLAGE  SCHOOLS  AND  TRAVELLING  SCHOLARS  75 


teacher  is  engaged  for  a long  series  of  years,  while  in  other 
places  there  is  an  annual  change. 

Once  the  pupil’s  name  has  been  regularly  entered  upon  the 
school  list,  he  must  pay  the  tuition  agreed  upon,  whether  he 
ever  attends  the  school  or  not,  no  matter  what  the  reason  for 
his  absence. 

Should  serious  illness  prevent  the  teacher  from  beginning  his 
duties  at  all,  the  engagement  is  cancelled ; but  if  he  enters 
upon  them,  and  is  then  disabled,  the  full  tuition  is  exacted 
from  every  scholar,  just  as  if  the  engagement  had  been  com- 
pleted. 

The  wish  of  the  school  patron  is  to  get  as  much  work  as  he 
can  out  of  the  teacher  for  the  money  paid  him.  The  endeav- 
our of  the  teacher  is  to  get  as  much  money  as  he  can,  and  to 
do  as  little  work  as  he  must.  For  this  reason  he  is  always  glad 
to  have  the  names  added  after  the  school  list  has  been  made 
out,  because  that  will  increase  his  receipts.  The  patrons  fre- 
quently object  to  this,  because  they  think  their  own  children 
will  be  neglected,  and  unless  all  the  patrons  consent  the  addi- 
tion cannot  be  made.  They  also  dislike  to  have  the  teacher 
bring  a son  or  a nephew  with  him,  lest  the  slender  salary  should 
be  insufficient  for  the  food  of  both.  In  that  event  the  master 
might  abandon  the  school  before  the  year  is  over,  as  sometimes 
occurs,  but  such  teachers  find  it  difficult  to  secure  another 
school  the  following  year. 

The  schoolhouse  is  an  unoccupied  room  in  a private  house, 
an  ancestral,  or  other  temple,  or  any  other  available  place  bor- 
rowed for  the  purpose.  Renting  a place  for  a school  seems  to 
be  almost  or  quite  unknown.  The  teacher  does  his  own  cook- 
ing, or  if  he  is  unequal  to  this  task,  he  is  assisted  by  one  of  his 
pupils,  perhaps  his  own  son,  whom  he  often  brings  with  him, 
albeit,  as  already  mentioned,  there  is  classical  authority  against 
having  a son  taught  by  a father. 

The  furniture  required  for  each  pupil  is  provided  by  his 
parents,  and  consists  simply  of  a table  and  a stool  or  bench. 


76 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


The  four  “precious  articles”  required  in  literature  are  the  ink- 
slab  with  a little  well  to  hold  the  water  required  to  rub  up  the 
ink,  the  ink-cake,  the  brush  for  writing,  and  paper. 

The  Chinese  school  year  is  coincident  with  the  calendar 
year,  though  the  school  does  not  begin  until  after  the  middle 
of  the  first  moon,  some  time  in  February.  There  is  a vacation 
at  the  wheat  harvest  in  June,  and  another  and  longer  one  at 
the  autumnal  harvest  in  September  and  October.  The  school 
is  furthermore  dismissed  ten  or  twenty  days  before  the  new 
year. 

Should  the  master  not  have  been  reengaged  he  is  likely  to 
do  very  little  teaching  during  the  last  moon  of  the  year,  as  he 
is  much  more  interested  in  arranging  for  the  future  than  in 
piecing  out  the  almost  dead  present.  The  attendance  of  the 
scholars,  too,  is  in  any  case  irregular  and  capricious,  amply 
justifying  the  saying : 


“ Once  entered  at  the  twelfth  month’s  door, 

The  teacher  rules  his  boys  no  more.” 

Chinese  education  is  based  upon  the  wisdom  of  the  ancients, 
and  of  those  ancients  Confucius  is  held  to  be  the  chief.  It  is 
natural,  therefore,  that  upon  the  beginning  of  a school  there 
should  be  special  respect  paid  to  the  Great  Sage  who  is  re- 
garded as  the  patron  of  learning.  Usages  vary  so  much  that 
no  generalizations  are  ever  safe  ih  China,  but  it  is  a singular 
fact  that  instead  of  the  altar,  incense,  candles,  and  formal 
prayers  to  Confucius,  which  in  some  parts  of  the  empire  are  in 
use  at  the  beginning  of  a year’s  school,  in  the  province  of  Con- 
fucius himself  the  ceremonies  are  for  the  most  part  much 
simpler.  At  the  feast  to  the  teacher  by  the  patrons,  the  scholars 
are  introduced  and  make  two  obeisances,  one  meant  for  Con- 
fucius, and  the  other  for  the  present  preceptor.  In  this  case 
there  is  not  only  no  image  of  the  Sage,  but  no  written  charac- 
ter to  represent  him.  And  even  this  modest  ceremony  is  far 
from  universal.  A teacher  of  twenty-five  or  thirty  years’  ex- 


Threshing. 


An  Afternoon  Siesta. 


VILLAGE  SCHOOLS  AND  TRAVELLING  SCHOLARS  77 

perience  declared  that  he  had  never  seen  this  performed  but 
once. 

The  scholars  in  a Chinese  school  are  expected  to  be  on  hand 
at  an  early  hour,  and  by  sunrise  they  are,  perhaps,  howling 
vigourously  away.  When  it  is  time  for  the  morning  meal  they 
return  to  their  homes,  and  as  soon  as  it  is  finished,  again  return. 
About  noon  they  are  released  for  dinner,  after  which  they  go 
back  as  before  to  school.  If  the  weather  is  hot,  every  one  else 
— men,  women,  and  children — is  indulging  in  the  afternoon 
siesta,  but  the  scholars  are  in  their  places  as  usual,  although 
they  may  be  suffered  to  doze  at  their  desks  as  well  as  they  can, 
for  half  the  rest  of  the  day.  In  this  way  the  discipline  of  the 
school  is  supposed  to  be  maintained,  and  some  allowance  made 
at  the  same  time  for  poor  human  nature.  Were  they  allowed 
to  take  a regular  nap  at  home,  the  teacher  fears  with  excellent 
reason  that  he  would  see  no  more  of  them  for  the  day. 

If  Chinese  pupils  are  to  be  pitied  in  the  dog-days,  the  same 
is  even  more  true  of  the  dead  of  winter,  when  the  thermometer 
hovers  between  the  freezing-point  and  zero.  The  village  school 
will  very  likely  have  either  no  fire  at  all,  or  only  such  as  is 
made  by  a pile  of  kindling  or  a bundle  of  stalks  lit  on  the  earth 
floor,  modifying  the  temperature  but  for  a few  moments,  and 
filling  the  room  with  acrid  smoke  for  an  hour.  Even  should 
there  be  a little  brazier  with  a rudimentary  charcoal  fire,  it  is 
next  to  useless,  and  is  mainly  for  the  behoof  of  the  master. 
The  pupils  will  be  found  (if  they  can  afford  such  luxuries)  en- 
veloped in  long  winter  hoods,  sitting  all  day  in  a state  of  semi- 
congelation. 

They  generally  do  not  leave  the  schoolhouse  until  it  is  too 
dark  to  distinguish  one  character  from  another.  When  at 
length  the  scholars  are  released,  it  is  not  for  a healthful  walk, 
much  less  for  a romp,  but  to  return  to  their  homes  in  an  orderly 
and  becoming  manner,  like  so  many  grown  Confucianists.  In 
some  schools  the  scholars  are  expected  to  come  back  in  the 
evening  to  their  tasks,  as  if  the  long  and  wearisome  day  were 


78 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


not  sufficient  for  them,  and  this  is,  perhaps,  universally  the 
case  in  the  advanced  schools  where  composition  is  studied. 

According  to  the  Chinese  theory,  the  employment  of  teacher 
is  the  most  honourable  possible.  Confucius  and  Mencius,  the 
great  sages  of  antiquity,  were  only  teachers.  To  invite  a 
teacher,  is  compared  to  the  investiture  of  a general  by  the 
emperor  with  supreme  command.  In  consequence  of  this 
theory,  springing  directly  from  the  exalted  respect  for  learning 
entertained  by  the  Chinese,  a master  is  allowed  almost  un- 
limited control.  According  to  a current  proverb,  the  relation 
of  teacher  and  pupil  resembles  that  of  father  and  son,  but  the 
simile  of  a general  would  be  a more  correct  expression  of  a 
teacher’s  powers.  He  is  able  to  declare  a sort  of  martial  law, 
and  to  punish  with  the  greatest  rigour. 

One  of  the  earliest  lines  in  the  Trimetrical  Classic  declares 
that  “to  rear  without  instruction,  is  a father’s  fault”;  “to 
teach  without  severity,  shows  a teacher’s  indolence.”  It  is 
common  for  boys  to  run  away,  sometimes  to  great  distances,  be- 
cause they  have  been  punished  at  school.  The  writer  was  told 
by  a man  in  middle  life  that  when  he  was  a lad  he  had  been 
beaten  by  a preceptor  of  the  same  surname,  because  that  teacher 
had  himself  been  beaten  as  a child  by  the  pupil’s  grandfather, 
the  grudge  being  thus  carried  on  to  the  third  generation  ! The 
ferule  always  lies  upon  the  teacher’s  desk,  and  serves  also  as  a 
tally.  Whenever  a scholar  goes  out,  he  takes  this  with  him, 
and  is  supposed  to  be  influenced  by  the  legend  upon  one  side, 
“go  out  reverentially,”  and  upon  the  other,  “enter  respect- 
fully.” Two  pupils  are  not  allowed  to  go  out  at  the  same 
time. 

The  most  flagrant  offence  which  a pupil  can  commit  is  the 
persistent  failure  to  learn  his  task  within  the  allotted  time.  For 
this  misdemeanour  he  is  constantly  punished,  and  often  to  the 
extent  of  hundreds  of  blows.  Considering  how  little  correc- 
tion is  ever  administered  to  Chinese  children  at  home,  and  how 
slight  are  the  attempts  at  anything  resembling  family  govern- 


VILLAGE  SCHOOLS  AND  TRAVELLING  SCHOLARS  79 


ment,  it  is  surprising  to  what  extreme  lengths  teachers  are 
allowed  to  carry  discipline.  Bad  scholars,  and  stupid  ones — 
for  a stupid  scholar  is  always  considered  as  a bad  one — are  not 
infrequently  punished  every  day,  and  are  sometimes  covered 
with  the  marks  of  their  beatings,  to  an  extent  which  suggests 
rather  a runaway  slave  than  a scholar.  As  the  pupil  dodges 
about,  with  the  hope  of  escaping  some  of  the  blows,  he  is  not 
unlikely  to  receive  them  upon  his  head,  even  if  they  were  not 
intended  for  it.  In  a case  of  this  sort,  a pupil  was  so  much 
injured  as  to  be  thrown  into  fits,  and  such  instances  can  scarcely 
be  uncommon.  As  a general  thing,  no  further  notice  appears 
to  be  taken  of  the  matter  by  the  parent  than  to  see  the  master 
and  ascertain  the  special  occasion  of  his  severity.  The  family 
of  the  pupil  is  naturally  anxious  that  the  pupil  shall  come  to 
something,  and  is  ready  to  assume  as  an  axiomatic  truth  that 
the  only  road  to  any  form  of  success  in  life  is  by  the  acquisi- 
tion of  an  education.  This  can  be  accomplished  only  by  the 
aid  of  the  teacher,  and  therefore  the  rules  laid  down  by  him 
are  to  be  implicitly  followed,  at  whatever  expense  to  the  feelings 
of  either  father  or  son. 

In  one  case  within  the  writer’s  knowledge,  a father  was  de- 
termined that  his  son  should  obtain  sufficient  education  to  fit 
him  to  take  charge  of  a small  business.  The  son,  on  the  other 
hand,  was  resolved  to  return  to  his  fork  and  manure  basket,  and 
the  teacher  was  invited  to  further  the  plans  of  the  boy’s  father. 
When  the  time  came  to  begin  his  education  at  school,  the  lad 
absolutely  declined  to  go,  and  like  most  Chinese  parents  in 
similar  circumstances,  the  father  was  perfectly  unable  to  force 
him  to  do  what  he  did  not  wish  to  do.  The  only  available 
plan  was  to  have  the  boy  tied  hand  and  foot,  placed  in  a basket 
slung  to  a pole,  and  carried  by  two  men,  like  a pig.  In  this 
condition  he  was  deposited  at  the  schoolhouse,  where  he  was 
chained  to  two  chairs,  and  not  allowed  to  leave  the  building. 
He  was  set  the  usual  task  in  the  Trimetrical  Classic,  to  which, 
however,  he  paid  no  attention  whatever,  although  beaten  as 


8o 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


often  as  the  teacher  could  spare  the  time.  The  boy  not  only 
did  not  study,  but  he  employed  all  his  strength  in  wailing  over 
his  hard  lot.  This  state  of  things  continued  for  several  days, 
at  the  end  of  which  time  it  was  apparent,  even  to  the  boy’s 
father,  that,  as  the  proverb  says : “You  cannot  help  a dead 
dog  over  a wall ; ’ ’ and  the  lad  was  henceforth  suffered  to 
betake  himself  to  those  agricultural  operations  for  which  alone 
he  was  fitted. 

Different  teachers  of  course  differ  greatly  in  their  use  of  pun- 
ishment, but  whatever  the  nature  of  the  severities  employed,  a 
genuine  Confucianist  would  much  rather  increase  the  rigour  of 
discipline  than  relax  it.  To  his  mind  the  method  which  he 
employs  appears  to  be  the  only  one  which  is  fitted  to  accomplish 
the  end  in  view.  The  course  of  study,  the  method  of  study, 
and  the  capacity  of  the  pupil,  are  all  fixed  quantities ; the  only 
variable  one  is  the  amount  of  diligence  which  the  scholar  can 
be  persuaded  or  driven  to  put  forth.  Hence  the  ideal  Chinese 
teacher  is  sometimes  a perfect  literary  Pharaoh. 

When  the  little  pupil  at  the  age  of  perhaps  seven  or  eight 
takes  his  seat  in  the  school  for  the  first  time,  neither  the  sound 
nor  the  meaning  of  a single  character  is  known  to  him.  The 
teacher  reads  over  the  line,  and  the  lad  repeats  the  sounds,  con- 
stantly corrected  until  he  can  pronounce  them  properly.  He 
thus  learns  to  associate  a particular  sound  with  a certain  shape. 
A line  or  two  is  assigned  to  each  scholar,  and  after  the  pro- 
nunciation of  the  characters  has  been  ascertained,  his  “ study  ” 
consists  in  bellowing  the  words  in  as  high  a key  as  possible. 
Every  Chinese  regards  this  shouting  as  an  indispensable  part 
of  the  child’s  education.  If  he  is  not  shouting  how  can  the 
teacher  be  sure  that  he  is  studying  ? and  as  studying  and  shout- 
ing are  the  same  thing,  when  he  is  shouting  there  is  nothing 
more  to  be  desired.  Moreover,  by  this  means  the  master,  who 
is  supposed  to  keep  track  of  the  babel  of  sound,  is  instantly 
able  to  detect  any  mispronunciation  and  correct  it  in  the  bud. 
When  the  scholar  can  repeat  the  whole  of  his  task  without 


VILLAGE  SCHOOLS  AND  TRAVELLING  SCHOLARS  81 


missing  a single  character,  his  lesson  is  “learned,”  and  he  then 
stands  with  his  back  to  the  teacher — to  make  sure  that  he  does 
not  see  the  book — and  recites,  or  “backs,”  it  at  railway 
speed. 

Every  educator  is  aware  of  the  extreme  difficulty  of  prevent- 
ing children  from  reading  the  English  language  with  an  un- 
natural tone.  To  prevent  the  formation  of  a vicious  habit  of 
this  sort  is  as  difficult  as  to  prevent  the  growth  of  weeds,  and 
to  eradicate  such  habits  once  formed  is  often  next  to  impossible. 
In  the  case  of  Chinese  pupils,  these  vices  in  their  most  extreme 
form  are  well-nigh  inevitable.  The  attention  of  the  scholar  is 
fixed  exclusively  upon  two  things, — the  repetition  of  the  char- 
acters in  the  same  order  as  they  occur  in  the  book,  and  the  rep- 
etition of  them  at  the  highest  attainable  rate  of  speed.  Sense 
and  expression  are  not  merely  ignored,  for  the  words  represent 
ideas  which  have  never  once  dawned  upon  the  Chinese  pupil’s 
mind.  His  sole  thought  is  to  make  a recitation.  If  he  is 
really  master  of  the  passage  which  he  recites,  he  falls  at  once 
into  a loud  hum,  like  that  of  a peg-top  or  a buzz,  like  that  of  a 
circular  saw,  and  to  extract  either  from  the  buzz  or  from  the 
hum  any  sound  as  of  human  speech — no  matter  how  familiar 
the  auditor  may  be  with  the  passage  recited — is  extremely  diffi- 
cult and  frequently  impossible. 

But  if  the  passage  has  been  only  imperfectly  committed,  and 
the  pupil  is  brought  to  a standstill  for  the  lack  of  characters  to 
repeat,  he  does  not  pause  to  collect  his  thoughts,  for  he  has  no 
thoughts  to  collect — has  in  fact  no  thoughts  to  speak  of.  What 
he  has,  is  a dim  recollection  of  certain  sounds,  and  in  order 
to  recall  those  which  he  has  forgotten,  he  keeps  on  repeating 
the  last  word,  or  phrase,  or  sentence,  or  page,  until  association 
regains  the  missing  link.  Then  he  plunges  forward  again,  as 
before. 

Let  us  suppose,  for  example,  that  the  words  to  be  recited,  are 
the  following,  from  the  Confucian  Analects,  relating  to  the 
habits  of  the  master  : “ He  did  not  partake  of  wine  and  dried 


82 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


meat  bought  in  the  market.  He  was  never  without  ginger 
when  he  ate.  He  did  not  eat  much.”  The  young  scholar, 
whose  acquaintance  with  this  chapter  is  imperfect,  nevertheless 
dashes  on  somewhat  as  follows : “ He  did  not  partake — he  did 
not  partake — partake — partake — partake — partake  of  wine  and 
dried  meat  bought  in — bought  in — bought  in  the  market — 
market — the  market — the  market.  He  was  never  without  gin- 
ger— when — ginger — when-ginger — when  he  ate-he  ate-he  ate- 
he-ate-ate-he  did  not  eat-eat-eat-eat-eat  without  ginger  when  he 
ate-he  did  not  eat-did  not  eat  much.” 

This  is  the  method  of  all  Chinese  instruction.  The  con- 
sequence of  so  much  roaring  on  the  part  of  the  scholars  is  that 
every  Chinese  school  seems  to  an  inexperienced  foreigner  like  a 
bedlam.  No  foreign  child  could  learn,  and  no  foreign  teacher 
could  teach,  amid  such  a babel  of  sound,  in  which  it  is  impossible 
for  the  instructor  to  know  whether  the  pupils  are  repeating  the 
sounds  which  are  given  to  them,  or  not.  As  the  effect  of  the 
unnatural  and  irrational  strain  of  such  incessant  screaming  upon 
their  voices,  it  is  not  uncommon  to  find  Chinese  scholars  who 
are  so  hoarse  that  they  cannot  pronounce  a loud  word. 

The  first  little  book  which  the  scholar  has  put  into  his  hands, 
is  probably  the  “ Trimetrical  Classic,”  (already  mentioned)  so 
called  from  its  arrangement  in  double  lines  of  three  characters 
above  and  three  below,  to  a total  number  of  more  than  1,000. 
It  was  composed  eight  centuries  and  a half  ago  by  a preceptor 
for  his  private  school,  and  perhaps  there  are  few  compositions 
which  have  ever  been  so  thoroughly  ground  into  the  mem- 
ory of  so  many  millions  of  the  human  race  as  this.  Yet 
of  the  inconceivable  myriads  who  have  studied  it,  few  have  had 
the  smallest  idea  by  whom  it  has  written,  or  when.  Dr.  Wil- 
liams has  called  attention  to  the  remarkable  fact  that  the  very 
opening  sentence  of  this  initial  text-book  in  Chinese  education, 
contains  one  of  the  most  disputed  doctrines  in  the  ancient 
heathen  world  : “Men  at  their  birth,  are  by  nature  radically 

good ; in  their  natures  they  approximate,  but  in  practice  differ 


VILLAGE  SCHOOLS  AND  TRAVELLING  SCHOLARS  8j 


widely.”  After  two  lines  showing  the  modifying  effects  of  in- 
struction, and  the  importance  of  attention,  the  mother  of 
Mencius  is  cited  as  an  expert  in  object  lessons  for  her  famous 
son.  The  student  is  next  reminded  that  “ just  was  the  life  of 
Tou,  of  Yen  ; five  sons  he  reared,  all  famous  men.” 

The  author  then  reverts  to  his  main  theme,  and  devotes 
several  strenuous  sentences  to  emphasizing  the  necessity  for  in- 
struction in  youth,  “since  gems  unwrought  can  never  be  use- 
ful, and  untaught  persons  will  never  know  the  proprieties.” 
After  a further  citation  of  wonderful  examples  in  Chinese  his- 
tory, accompanied  with  due  moralizing,  there  follow  more 
than  sixty  lines  of  a characteristically  Chinese  mosaic.  The 
little  pupil  is  enlightened  on  the  progressive  nature  of  numbers ; 
the  designations  of  the  heavenly  bodies ; the  “ three  relations  ” 
between  prince  and  minister,  father  and  son,  man  and  wife ; 
the  four  seasons ; the  four  directions ; the  five  elements ; the 
five  cardinal  virtues  ; the  six  kinds  of  grain  ; the  six  domestic 
animals ; the  seven  passions ; the  eight  kinds  of  music ; the 
nine  degrees  of  relationship  and  the  ten  moral  duties. 

Having  swallowed  this  formidable  list  of  categories,  the 
scholar  is  treated  to  a general  summary  of  the  classical  books 
which  he  is  to  study  as  he  advances.  When  he  has  mastered 
all  the  works  adjudged  “ Classic,”  he  is  told  that  he  must  go  on 
to  those  of  philosophers  and  sages,  as  in  the  bill  of  particulars 
contained  in  the  Trimetrical  Classic.  His  special  attention  is 
invited  to  history,  which  suggests  a catalogue  of  the  numerous 
Chinese  dynastic  periods  with  the  names,  or  rather  the  styles, 
of  a few  of  the  important  founders  of  dynasties.  The  list  is 
brought  down  to  the  first  emperor  of  the  present  dynasty,  where 
it  abruptly  stops  at  the  year  1644.  A pupil  who  wishes  to 
know  the  titles  of  the  later  emperors  of  the  Ch‘ing  Dynasty  can 
be  accommodated  when  the  same  shall  have  been  overthrown, 
and  therefore  has  become  a suitable  object  of  historical  study. 
The  pupil  is  urged  to  ponder  these  records  of  history  till  he 
understands  things  ancient  and  modern  as  if  they  were  before 


84 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


his  eyes,  and  to  make  them  his  morning  study  and  his  evening 
task. 

The  concluding  section  contains  more  of  human  interest 
than  any  of  the  preceding  parts,  since  we  are  told  that  the  great 
Confucius  once  learned  something  from  a mere  child ; that  the 
ancient  students  had  no  books,  but  copied  their  lessons  on 
reeds  and  slips  of  bamboo;  that  to  vanquish  the  body  they 
hung  themselves  by  the  hair  from  a beam,  or  drove  an  awl  into 
the  thigh  ; that  one  read  by  the  light  of  glow-worms,  and  that 
another  tied  his  book  to  a cow’s  horn.  Among  the  prodigies 
of  diligence  were  two,  who,  “ though  girls,  were  intelligent  and 
well  informed.”  The  closing  lines  strive  to  stimulate  the  am- 
bition of  the  beginner,  not  only  by  the  tales  of  antiquity,  but 
by  the  faithfulness  of  the  dog  at  night,  and  the  diligence  of  the 
silk-worm  and  the  bee.  “ If  men  neglect  to  learn,  they  are  in- 
ferior to  insects.”  But  “ he  who  learns  in  youth,  and  acts  when 
of  mature  age,  extends  his  influence  to  the  prince,  benefits  the 
people,  makes  his  name  renowned,  renders  illustrious  his 
parents,  reflects  glory  upon  his  ancestors  and  enriches  his  pos- 
terity.” If  every  Chinese  lad  does  not  eventually  become  a 
prodigy  of  learning,  it  is  certainly  not  the  fault  of  the  author  of 
this  remarkable  compendium,  the  incalculable  influence  of 
which  must  be  the  justification  of  so  extended  a synopsis. 

Another  little  book,  to  which  the  Chinese  pupil  is  early  intro- 
duced, is  the  list  of  Chinese  surnames,  more  than  400  in  num- 
ber, and  all  to  be  learned  by  a dead  lift  of  memory.  The 
characters  are  arranged  in  quartettes,  and  when  a Chinese 
tells  another  his  own  surname,  it  is  common  to  repeat  all  four, 
whereupon  his  auditor  recalls  which  of  the  several  names 
having  the  same  sound  it  may  be.  In  some  parts  of  the  em- 
pire the  “Thousand  Character  Classic”  follows  the  Tri- 
metrical  Classic,  while  in  other  parts  its  use  seems  to  be  quite 
unknown.  It  comprises,  as  the  name  implies,  a thousand  char- 
acters, not  one  of  which  is  repeated.  It  is  common  to  use 
these  characters  instead  of  ordinal  numbers  to  designate  seats 


VILLAGE  SCHOOLS  AND  TRAVELLING  SCHOLARS  85 

in  the  examination  halls,  so  that  it  is  desirable  that  scholars 
should  be  familiar  with  the  book. 

After  the  scholar  has  mastered  the  smaller  ones,  he  passes  on 
to  the  “Four  Books,”  the  Confucian  Analects,  the  Great 
Learning,  the  Doctrine  of  the  Mean,  and  the  works  of 
Mencius.  The  order  in  which  these  books  are  taken  up  varies 
in  different  places,  but,  as  already  observed,  the  method  of 
study  is  as  nearly  as  possible  invariable.  Book  after  book  is 
stored  away  in  the  abdomen  (in  which  the  intellectual  faculties 
are  supposed  to  be  situated),  and  if  the  pupil  is  furnished  with 
the  clew  of  half  a sentence,  he  can  unravel  from  memory,  as 
required,  yards,  rods,  furlongs  or  miles  of  learning. 

After  the  Four  Books,  follow  in  varying  order  the  Poetical 
Classic,  the  Book  of  History,  the  Book  of  Changes,  and  the 
historical  work  of  Confucius,  known  as  the  Spring  and  Au- 
tumn Annals.  To  commit  to  memory  all  these  volumes,  must 
in  any  case  be  the  labour  of  many  years.  Usage  varies  in  dif- 
ferent localities,  but  it  is  very  common  to  find  scholars  who 
have  memorized  the  whole  of  the  Four  Books,  and  perhaps  two 
of  the  later  Classics — the  Odes  and  the  History — before  they 
have  heard  any  explanations  even  of  the  Trimetrical  Classic, 
with  which  their  education  began.  During  all  these  years,  the 
pupil  has  been  in  a condition  of  mental  daze,  which  is  denoted 
by  a Chinese  character,  the  component  parts  of  which  signify  a 
pig  in  the  weeds  (meng).  His  entrance  upon  study  is  called 
“lifting  the  darkness”  (ch‘i  meng),  and  to  teach  the  beginner 
is  to  “instruct  darkness.”  These  expressive  phrases  corre- 
spond to  a fixed  reality.  Of  those  who  have  committed  to 
memory  all  the  books  named,  some  of  the  brightest  have  no 
doubt  picked  up  here  and  there,  and  as  it  were  by  accident,  an 
idea. 

Thoughtful  Chinese  teachers,  familiar  with  the  capacity  of 
their  pupils,  estimate  that  the  most  intelligent  among  them  can 
not  be  expected  to  understand  a hundredth  part  of  what  they 
have  memorized.  The  great  majority  of  them  have  about  as 


86 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


accurate  a conception  of  the  territory  traversed,  as  a boy  might 
entertain  of  a mountainous  district  through  which  he  had  been 
compelled  to  run  barefooted  and  blindfolded  in  a dense  fog, 
chased  for  vast  distances  by  a man  cracking  over  his  head  a 
long  ox-whip.  How  very  little  many  scholars  do  grasp  of  the 
real  meaning,  even  after  explanations  which  the  teacher  regards 
as  abundantly  full,  is  demonstrated  by  a test  to  which  here  and 
there  a master  subjects  his  scholars,  that  of  requiring  them  to 
write  down  a passage.  The  result  is  frequently  the  notation  of 
so  many  false  characters  as  to  render  it  evident,  not  only  that 
the  explanations  have  not  been  apprehended,  but  that  notwith- 
standing such  a multitude  of  perusals,  the  text  itself  has  been 
taken  only  into  the  ear  as  so  many  sounds,  and  has  not  entered 
the  mind  at  all. 

The  system  of  explanations  adopted  by  Chinese  teachers,  as  v 
a rule,  is  almost  the  exact  opposite  of  that  which,  to  an  Occi- 
dental, would  seem  rational.  “In  speech,”  said  Confucius, 

“ one  should  be  intelligible,  and  that  is  the  end  of  it.”  The 
Confucian  teacher,  however,  is  often  very  far  indeed  from  feel- 
ing that  it  is  necessary  to  be  intelligible — that  is  to  say,  to  make 
it  absolutely  certain  that  his  pupils  have  fully  comprehended 
his  meaning.  He  is  very  apt  to  deliver  his  explanations — when 
a sufficient  number  of  years  has  elapsed  to  make  it  seem  worth 
while  to  begin  them  at  all — ex  cathedra , and  in  a stately,  formal 
manner,  his  attention  being  much  more  fixed  upon  the  exhibi- 
tion of  his  own  skill  in  displaying  his  own  knowledge,  than 
upon  imparting  that  knowledge  to  his  scholars.  It  is  common 
to  hear  it  said  of  a teacher  who  has  attained  distinction,  that 
when  he  opens  his  mouth  to  explain  the  Classics,  “ every  sen- 
tence is  fit  for  an  examination  essay.”  This  is  considered  to 
be  the  acme  of  praise.  Sentences  which  are  suited  to  be  con- 
stituent parts  of  examination  essays,  are  not,  it  is  superfluous  to 
remark,  particularly  adapted  to  the  comprehension  of  young 
schoolboys,  who  know  nothing  about  examination  essays,  the 
style  of  which  is  utterly  beyond  their  powers. 


VILLAGE  SCHOOLS  AND  TRAVELLING  SCHOLARS  87 


The  commentary  upon  the  Classics  written  by  Chu  Hsi,  in  the 
twelfth  century,  a.  d.,  has  come  to  have  an  authority  second  only 
to  that  of  the  text  itself.  That  no  Chinese  school-teacher  leads 
his  pupils  to  question  for  an  instant  whether  the  explanation  is 
accurate  and  adequate,  is  a matter  of  course.  The  whole 
object  of  a teacher’s  work  is  to  fit  his  pupils  to  compete  at  the 
examinations,  and  to  prepare  essays  which  shall  win  the  ap- 
proval of  the  examiners,  thus  leading  to  the  rank  of  literary 
graduate.  This  result  would  be  possible  only  to  those  who  ac- 
cept the  orthodox  interpretation  of  the  Classics,  and  hence  it  is 
easy  to  see  that  Chinese  schools  are  not  likely  to  become  nur- 
series of  heresy.  The  very  idea  of  discussing  with  his  pupils 
either  text  or  commentary,  does  not  so  much  as  enter  the  mind 
of  a Chinese  schoolmaster.  He  could  not  do  so  if  he  would, 
and  he  would  not  if  he  could. 

The  task  of  learning  to  write  Chinese  characters  is  a very 
serious  one,  in  comparison  with  which  it  is  scarcely  unfair  to 
characterize  the  mastery  of  the  art  of  writing  any  European 
language,  as  a mere  pastime.  The  correct  notation  of  char- 
acters is,  moreover,  not  less  important  than  the  correct  recog- 
nition of  them,  for  success  in  some  of  the  examinations  is  made 
to  depend  as  much  upon  caligraphy  as  upon  style. 

The  characters  which  the  teacher  selects  for  the  writing  ex- 
ercises of  his  pupils,  have  no  relation,  strange  as  it  may  seem, 
to  anything  which  he  is  studying.  These  characters  may  at 
first  be  taken  from  little  books  of  rhymes  arranged  for  the  pur- 
pose, containing  characters  at  once  simple  and  common. 

The  next  step  is  to  change  to  books  containing  selections 
from  the  T'ang  Dynasty  poets,  an  appreciation  of  which  in- 
volves acquaintance  with  tones  and  rhyme,  of  which  the  pupil, 
as  yet,  knows  nothing.  The  characters  which  he  now  learns  to 
write  he  has  very  likely  never  seen  before,  and  they  do  not  at 
all  assist  his  other  studies.  The  only  item  of  which  notice  is 
taken,  is  whether  the  characters  are  well  or  ill-formed.  Review 
there  is  none. 


88 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


The  reason  for  choosing  T'ang  Dynasty  poetry  for  writing 
lessons,  instead  of  characters  or  sentences  which  are  a part  of 
the  current  lesson,  is  that  it  is  customary  to  use  the  poetry,  and 
is  not  customary  to  use  anything  else,  and  that  to  do  so  would 
expose  himself  to  ridicule.  Besides  this,  poetry  makes  com- 
plete sense  by  itself  (if  the  pupil  could  only  comprehend  it) 
while  isolated  characters  do  not.  The  consequence  of  this 
method  of  instruction  is  that  hundreds  of  thousands  of  pupils 
leave  school  knowing  very  little  about  characters,  and  much  of 
what  they  do  know  is  wrong.  The  method  of  teaching  char- 
acters explains  in  part  what  seems  at  first  almost  unaccountable, 
that  so  few  ordinary  persons  know  characters  accurately.  It  is 
an  inevitable  incident  of  the  system,  that  to  write  some  of  the 
commonest  characters,  referring  to  objects  used  in  daily  life,  is 
quite  beyond  the  power  of  a man  who  has  been  for  years  at 
school,  for  he  has  never  seen  them  either  written  or  printed. 
Thus  in  taking  an  inventory  of  household  property,  there  is  not 
one  chance  in  ten  that  the  characters  will  be  written  correctly, 
for  they  do  not  occur  in  the  Classics,  nor  in  T'ang  Dynasty 
poetry.  Not  only  so,  but  it  is  altogether  probable  that  an 
average  graduate  of  the  village  school  cannot  indite  a common 
letter,  or  set  down  a page  of  any  miscellaneous  characters, 
without  writing  something  wrong. 

If  the  teacher  is  a man  of  any  reputation,  he  has  a multitude 
of  acquaintances,  fellow  students,  any  of  whom  may  happen  to 
call  upon  him  at  the  schoolhouse,  where  he  lives.  Chinese 
etiquette  requires  that  certain  attentions  should  be  paid  to 
visitors  of  this  sort,  and  while  it  is  perfectly  understood  that 
school  routine  ought  not  to  be  broken  in  upon  by  unnecessary 
interruptions,  as  a matter  of  fact  in  most  schools  these  inter- 
ruptions are  a serious  nuisance,  to  which  the  teacher  often  can- 
not and  oftener  will  not  put  a stop. 

The  system  here  described,  by  which  the  whole  time  of  the 
master  is  supposed  to  be  devoted  to  instructing  his  pupils, 
makes  no  allowances  for  any  absences  whatever.  Yet  there  are 


VILLAGE  SCHOOLS  AND  TRAVELLING  SCHOLARS  89 


few  human  beings  blessed  with  such  perfect  health,  and  having 
such  an  entire  freedom  from  all  relations  to  the  external  world, 
as  to  be  able  to  conduct  a school  of  this  kind  month  after 
month,  with  no  interruptions. 

It  frequently  happens  that  the  teacher  is  himself  one  Qf  the 
literary  army  who  attends  the  examinations  in  hope  of  a degree. 
If  this  is  the  case,  his  absences  for  this  purpose  will  often  prove 
a serious  interruption  to  the  routine  of  the  school.  Some  pa- 
trons appear  to  consider  that  this  disadvantage  is  balanced  by 
the  glory  which  would  accrue  to  their  school  in  case  its  master 
were  to  take  his  degree  while  in  their  service.  Moreover,  aside 
from  the  regular  vacations  at  the  feast  times  and  harvests,  every 
teacher  is  sure  to  be  called  home  from  time  to  time  by  some 
emergency  in  his  own  family,  or  in  his  village,  or  among  his 
numerous  friends.  Under  these  circumstances  he  provides  a 
substitute  if  he  happens  to  find  it  convenient  to  do  so.  Such 
are  nicknamed  “remote-cousin-preceptors”  (su-pai lao-shih), 
and  are  not  likely  to  be  treated  with  much  respect.  When  the 
teacher  is  absent  for  a day,  instead  of  dismissing  the  school, 
he  perhaps  leaves  it  theoretically  in  the  charge  of  one  of  the 
older  scholars.  The  inevitable  consequence  is,  that  at  such 
times  the  work  of  the  school  is  reduced  not  merely  to  zero,  but 
to  forty  degrees  below  zero.  The  scholars  simply  bar  the  front 
door,  and  amuse  themselves  in  using  the  teacher’s  ferule  for  a 
bat,  and  the  Trimetrical  Classic,  or  the  Confucian  Analects,  for 
a ball.  The  demoralization  attending  such  lawlessness  is 
evidently  most  injurious  to  the  efficiency  of  the  school. 

The  irregularities  of  the  master’s  attendance  are  more  than 
matched  by  those  of  his  scholars.  The  pressure  of  domestic 
duties  is  such  that  many  poorer  families  on  one  pretence  or 
another  are  constantly  taking  their  children  out  of  school. 
To-day  the  pupil  must  rake  up  fuel,  next  week  he  must  lead 
the  animal  that  draws  the  seed  drill,  a month  later  he  is  taken 
for  two  or  three  days  to  visit  some  relatives.  Not  long  after 
there  is  in  the  village,  or  perhaps  in  some  neighbouring  vil- 


90 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


lage,  a theatrical  entertainment,  but  in  either  case  the  whole 
school  expects  a vacation  to  go  and  see  the  sport.  As  al- 
ready remarked  when  describing  theatricals,  if  this  vacation 
were  denied  they  would  take  it  themselves.  Besides  interrup- 
tions of  this  sort,  there  are  the  spring  and  autumn  harvests, 
when  the  school  is  dismissed  for  two  months  and  perhaps  for 
three,  and  the  New  Year  vacation,  which  lasts  from  the  mid- 
dle of  the  twelfth  moon  to  the  latter  part  of  the  first  moon. 
But,  extensive  as  are  these  intermissions  of  study,  the  dog-days 
are  not  among  them,  and  the  poor  pupils  go  droning  on 
through  all  the  heat  of  summer. 

As  the  Chinese  child  has  no  Saturdays,  no  Sundays,  no  re- 
cesses, no  variety  of  study,  and  no  promotion  from  grade  to 
grade,  nor  from  one  school  to  another,  it  is  probable  that  he 
has  enough  schooling  such  as  it  is.  As  every  scholar  is  a class 
by  himself,  the  absence  of  one  does  not  interfere  with  the  study 
of  another.  Even  if  two  lads  happen  to  be  reciting  in  the 
same  place,  they  have  no  more  connection  with  each  other  than 
any  other  two  pupils.  Of  such  a thing  as  classification  the 
teacher  has  never  heard,  and  the  irregular  attendance  of  the 
scholars  would,  he  tells  you,  prevent  it,  even  were  it  otherwise 
possible.  Owing  to  the  time  required  to  hear  so  many  recita- 
tions, an  ordinary  school  does  not  contain  more  than  eight  or 
ten  pupils,  and  twenty  are  regarded  as  beyond  one  teacher’s 
capacity. 

There  is  very  little  which  is  really  intellectual  in  any  part  of 
the  early  schooling  of  an  ordinary  Chinese  boy.  As  a rule,  the 
teacher  does  not  concern  himself  with  his  pupils  further  than  to 
drag  them  over  a specified  course,  or  at  least  to  attempt  to  do 
so.  The  parents  of  the  lad  are  equally  indifferent,  or  even 
more  so.  If  the  father  himself  can  read,  he  remembers  that  he 
learned  to  do  so  by  a long  and  thorny  road,  and  he  thinks  it 
proper  that  his  son  should  traverse  it  likewise.  If  the  father 
can  not  read,  he  at  least  recognizes  the  fact  that  he  knows 
nothing  at  all  about  the  matter,  and  that  it  is  not  his  business 


VILLAGE  SCHOOLS  AND  TRAVELLING  SCHOLARS  91 


to  interfere.  The  teacher  is  hired  to  teach — let  him  do  it.  As 
for  visiting  the  school  to  see  what  progress  his  son  is  making, 
he  never  heard  of  such  a thing,  and  he  would  not  do  it  if  he 
had  heard  of  it.  The  teacher  would  say  in  his  manner  if  not 
in  his  words,  “ What  business  have  you  here  ? ” 

A sufficient  reason  for  spending  all  his  time  in  the  school- 
room is  the  fact  that  it  is  practically  impossible  for  a Chinese 
child  to  do  any  studying  amid  the  distractions  of  a Chinese 
household.  Even  for  adult  scholars  it  is  almost  always  difficult 
to  do  so.  At  his  home  the  pupil  has  no  mental  stimulus  of  any 
sort,  no  books,  magazines  or  papers,  and  even  if  he  had  them, 
his  barren  studies  at  school  would  not  have  fitted  him  to  com- 
prehend such  literature. 

The  object  of  Chinese  education  is  to  pump  up  the  wisdom 
of  the  ancients  into  the  minds  of  the  modems.  In  order  to  do 
this,  however,  it  is  necessary  to  keep  the  stream  in  a constant 
flow,  at  whatever  cost,  else  much  of  the  preceding  labour  is  lost. 
According  to  Chinese  theory,  or  practice,  a school  which  should 
only  be  in  session  for  six  months  of  the  year,  would  be  a gross 
absurdity.  The  moment  a child  fails  to  attend  school,  he  is 
supposed  (and  with  reason)  to  become  “wild.” 

The  territory  to  be  traversed  is  so  vast  that  the  most  unre- 
mitting diligence  is  absolutely  indispensable.  This  continues 
true,  however  advanced  the  pupil  may  be  ; as  witness  the  pop- 
ular saying,  “ Ten  years  a graduate  (without  studying),  and 
one  is  a nobody.”  The  same  saying  is  current  in  regard  to 
the  second  degree,  and  with  not  less  reason. 

The  necessity  of  confining  one’s  attention  to  study  alone, 
leads  to  the  selection  of  one  or  more  of  the  sons  of  a family  as 
the  recipient  of  an  education.  The  one  who  is  chosen  is 
clothed  in  the  best  style  which  his  family  circumstances  will 
allow,  his  little  cue  neatly  tied  with  a red  string,  and  he  is  pro- 
vided, as  we  have  seen,  with  a copy  of  the  Hundred  Surnames  and 
of  the  Trimetrical  Classic.  This  young  Confucianist  is  the  bud 
and  prototype  of  the  adult  scholar.  His  twin  brother,  who  has 


92 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


not  been  chosen  to  this  high  calling,  roams  about  the  village  all 
summer  in  the  costume  of  the  garden  of  Eden,  gathering  fuel, 
swimming  in  the  village  mud-hole,  busy  when  he  must  be  busy, 
idle  when  he  can  be  idle.  He  may  be  incomparably  more  use- 
ful to  his  family  than  the  other,  but  so  far  as  education  goes 
he  is  only  a “ wild  ” lad. 

If  the  student  is  quick  and  bright,  and  gives  good  promise 
of  distinguishing  himself,  he  stands  an  excellent  chance  of 
being  spoiled  by  thoughtless  praises.  “That  boy,”  remarks  a 
bystander  to  a stranger,  and  in  the  lad’s  hearing,  “is  only 
thirteen  years  old,  but  he  has  read  all  the  Four  Books,  and  all 
of  the  Book  of  Poetry,  etc.  By  the  time  he  is  twenty,  he  is 
sure  to  become  a graduate.”  When  questioned  as  to  his  at- 
tainments, the  lad  replies  without  any  of  that  pertness  and  for- 
wardness which  too  often  characterize  Western  youth,  but,  as 
he  has  been  taught  to  do,  in  a bashful  and  modest  manner,  and 
in  a way  to  win  at  once  the  good  opinion  of  the  stranger.  His 
manner  leaves  nothing  to  be  desired,  but  in  reality  he  is  the 
victim  of  the  most  dangerous  of  all  flatteries,  the  inferiority  of 
what  is  around  him.  In  order  to  hold  his  relative  position,  it 
is  necessary,  as  already  pointed  out,  to  bestow  the  most  un- 
wearied attention  on  his  books.  His  brothers  are  all  day  in  the 
fields,  or  learning  a trade,  or  are  assistants  to  some  one  en- 
gaged in  business,  as  the  case  may  be,  but  he  is  doing  nothing, 
absolutely  and  literally  nothing,  but  study. 

So  much  confinement,  and  such  close  application  from  the 
very  earliest  years,  can  scarcely  fail  to  show  their  effects  in  his 
physical  constitution.  His  brother  hoes  the  ground,  bare- 
headed throughout  the  blistering  heats  of  July,  but  such  ex- 
posure to  the  sun  would  soon  give  him  the  headache.  His 
brother  works  with  more  or  less  energy  all  day  long  (with  in- 
termittent sequence),  but  were  he  compelled  to  do  the  same 
the  result  would  not  improbably  be  that  he  would  soon  begin 
to  spit  blood.  That  he  is  physically  by  no  means  so  strong  as 
he  once  was,  is  undeniable.  He  has  very  little  opportunity  to 


VILLAGE  SCHOOLS  AND  TRAVELLING  SCHOLARS  93 


learn  anything  of  practical  affairs,  and  still  less  disposition. 
The  fact  that  a student  has  no  time  to  devote  to  ordinary  af- 
fairs is  not  so  much  the  reason  of  his  ignorance,  as  is  the  fact  that 
for  him  to  do  common  things  is  not  respectable.  Among  the 
four  classes  of  mankind,  scholars  rank  first,  farmers,  labourers, 
and  merchants  being  at  a great  remove. 

The  two  things  that  a pupil  is  sure  to  learn  in  a Chinese 
school  are  obedience,  and  the  habit  of  concentrating  his  atten- 
tion upon  whatever  he  is  reading,  to  the  entire  disregard  of 
surrounding  distractions.  So  far  as  they  go  these  are  valuable 
acquirements,  although  they  can  scarcely  be  termed  an  educa- 
tion. 

Every  pupil  is  naturally  anxious  to  get  into  the  class  of 
scholars,  and  this  he  does  as  soon  as  he  gives  all  his  time  to 
study ; for  whether  he  is  a real  scholar  or  not,  he  plainly  be- 
longs to  neither  of  the  other  classes.  We  are  told  in  the  Con- 
fucian  Analects  that  the  master  said,  “The  accomplished 
scholar  is  not  a utensil.”  The  commentators  tell  us  that  this 
means  that  whereas  a utensil  can  only  be  put  to  one  use,  the 
accomplished  scholar  can  be  used  in  all  varieties  of  ways,  ad 
omnia  paratus , as  Dr.  Legge  paraphrases  it.  This  expression 
is  sometimes  quoted  in  banter,  as  if  in  excuse  for  the  general 
incapacity  of  the  Chinese  literary  man — he  is  not  a utensil. 
The  scholar,  even  the  village  scholar,  not  only  does  not  plow 
and  reap,  but  he  does  not  in  any  way  assist  those  who  perform 
these  necessary  acts.  He  does  not  harness  an  animal,  nor  feed 
him,  nor  drive  a cart,  nor  light  a fire,  nor  bring  water — in 
short,  so  far  as  physical  exertion  goes,  he  does  as  nearly  as  pos- 
sible nothing  at  all.  “ The  scholar  is  not  a utensil,”  he  seems 
to  be  thinking  all  day  long,  and  every  day  of  his  life,  until  one 
wishes  that  at  times  he  would  be  a utensil,  that  he  might  some- 
times be  of  use.  He  will  not  even  move  a bench,  nor  make 
any  motion  that  looks  like  labour.  Almost  the  only  exception 
to  this  general  incapacity,  is  an  exception  for  which  we  should 
hardly  be  prepared  ; it  is  a knowledge,  in  many  cases  of  the  art 


94 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


of  cooking,  in  so  far  as  it  is  necessary  for  the  practice  of  the 
scholar,  who  often  teaches  in  a village  other  than  his  home, 
where  he  generally  lives  by  himself  in  the  schoolhouse. 

We  have  already  alluded  to  the  great  oversupply  of  teachers 
of  schools.  Many  of  them,  owing  to  their  lack  of  adaptation 
to  their  environment,  are  chronically  on  the  verge  of  starvation. 
It  is  a venerable  maxim  that  poverty  and  pride  go  side  by  side, 
and  nowhere  does  this  saying  find  more  forcible  exemplification 
than  in  the  case  of  a poor  Chinese  scholar.  He  has  nothing,  he 
can  do  nothing,  and  in  most  cases  he  is  unwilling  to  do  any- 
thing. In  short,  viewed  from  the  standpoint  of  political  econ- 
omy, he  is  good  for  nothing. 

One  specimen  of  this  class  the  writer  once  saw,  who  had 
been  set  at  work  by  a benevolent  foreigner  molding  coal  balls, 
an  employment  which  doubtless  appeared  to  him  and  to  the 
spectators  as  the  substantial  equivalent  of  the  chain-gang,  and 
yet,  to  the  surprise  of  his  employer,  he  accepted  it  rather  than 
starve.  A certain  scholar  of  this  description  was  so  poor  that 
he  was  obliged  to  send  his  family  back  to  her  mother’s  house, 
to  save  them  from  starvation.  The  wife,  being  a skillful  needle- 
woman, was  employed  at  good  wages  in  a foreign  family,  but 
when  her  husband  heard  of  it  he  was  very  angry,  not  because 
he  was  unwilling  to  have  her  associate  with  foreigners,  who  he 
was  kind  enough  to  say  were  very  respectable,  but  because  it 
was  very  unsuitable  that  she,  the  wife  of  a scholar,  should 
work  for  hire  ! The  wife  had  the  sense  and  spirit  to  reply 
that,  if  these  were  his  views,  it  might  be  well  for  him  to  pro- 
vide his  family  with  something  to  eat,  to  which  he  replied  with 
the  characteristic  and  ultimate  argument  for  refractory  wives, 
namely,  a sound  beating  ! 

When  one  of  these  helpless  and  impecunious  scholars  calls 
upon  a foreigner  whom  he  has  met  only  once,  or  perhaps  never 
even  seen,  he  will  not  improbably  begin  by  quoting  a wilder- 
ness of  classical  learning  to  display  his  great — albeit  unrecog- 
nized— abilities.  He  tells  you  that  among  the  five  relations  of 


VILLAGE  SCHOOLS  AND  TRAVELLING  SCHOLARS  95 


prince  and  minister,  husband  and  wife,  father  and  son, 
brother  to  brother,  and  friend  to  friend,  his  relationship  to  you 
is  of  the  latter  type.  That  it  would  do  violence  to  his  concep- 
tion of  the  duties  of  this  relation,  if  he  did  not  let  you  know 
of  his  exigencies.  He  shows  you  his  thin  trousers  and  other 
garments  concealed  under  his  scholar’s  long  gown,  and  frankly 
volunteers  that  any  contribution,  large  or  small,  prompted  by 
such  friendship  as  ours  to  him  will  be  most  acceptable. 

While  the  conditions  of  the  life  of  the  village  scholar  are 
thus  unfavourable  for  his  success  in  earning  a living,  they  are 
not  more  favourable  to  his  own  intellectual  development.  The 
chief,  if  not  the  exclusive  sources  of  his  mental  alimentation 
have  been  the  Chinese  Classics.  These  are  in  many  respects 
remarkable  products  of  the  human  mind.  Their  negative  ex- 
cellencies, in  the  absence  of  anything  calculated  to  corrupt  the 
morals,  are  great.  To  the  lofty  standard  of  morality  which 
they  fix,  may  be  ascribed  in  great  measure  their  unbounded 
and  perennial  influence,  an  influence  which  has  no  doubt 
powerfully  tended  to  the  preservation  of  the  empire.  Apart 
from  the  incalculable  influence  which  they  have  exerted  on  the 
countless  millions  of  China  for  many  ages,  there  are  many  pas- 
sages which  in  and  of  themselves  are  remarkable. 

But  taken  as  a whole,  the  most  friendly  critic  finds  it  impos- 
sible to  avoid  the  conviction,  which  forces  itself  upon  him  at 
every  page,  that  regarded  as  the  sole  text-books  for  a great 
nation  they  are  fatally  defective.  They  are  too  desultory,  and 
too  limited  in  their  range.  Epigrammatic  moral  maxims, 
scraps  of  biography,  nodules  of  a sort  of  political  economy, 
bits  of  history,  rules  of  etiquette,  and  a great  variety  of  other 
subjects,  are  commingled  without  plan,  symmetry,  or  progress 
of  thought.  The  chief  defects,  as  already  suggested,  are  the 
triviality  of  many  of  the  subjects,  the  limitation  in  range,  and 
the  inadequacy  of  treatment.  When  the  Confucian  Analects 
are  compared,  for  example,  with  the  Memorabilia  of  Xene- 
phon,  when  the  Doctrine  of  the  Mean  is  placed  by  the  side  of 


96 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


the  writings  of  Aristotle  and  Plato,  and  the  bald  notation  of 
the  Spring  and  Autumn  Annals  by  the  side  of  the  history  of 
Thucydides,  when  the  Book  of  Odes  is  contrasted  with  the 
Iliad,  the  Odyssey,  or  even  the  ZEneid,  it  is  impossible  not  to 
marvel  at  the  measure  of  success  which  has  attended  the  use  of 
such  materials  in  China. 

Considering  what,  in  spite  of  their  defects,  the  Classics  have 
done  for  China,  it  is  not  surprising  that  they  have  come  to  be 
regarded  with  a bibliolatry  to  which  the  history  of  mankind 
affords  few  parallels.  It  is  extremely  difficult  for  us  to  compre- 
hend the  effect  of  a narrow  range  of  studies  on  the  mind,  be- 
cause our  experience  furnishes  no  instance  to  which  the  case  of 
the  Chinese  can  be  compared.  Let  us  for  a moment  imagine  a 
Western  scholar,  who  had  enjoyed  a profound  mathematical 
education,  and  no  other  education  whatever.  Every  one  would 
consider  such  a mind  ill-balanced.  Yet  much  of  the  ill  effect 
of  such  a narrow  education  would  be  counteracted.  Mathe- 
matical certainty  is  infallible  certainty ; mathematics  leads  up 
to  astronomy,  and  a thorough  acquaintance  with  astronomy  is 
of  itself  a liberal  education.  Besides  this,  no  man  in  Western 
lands  can  fail  to  come  into  vital  contact  with  other  minds. 
And  there  is  what  Goethe  called  the  Zeit-geist,  or  Spirit  of  the 
Age,  which  exerts  a powerful  influence  upon  him.  But  in 
China,  a man  who  is  educated  in  a narrow  line,  is  likely, 
though  by  no  means  certain,  to  remain  narrow,  and  there  is  no 
Chinese  Zeit-geist,  or  if  there  is,  like  other  ghosts,  it  seldom  in- 
terposes in  human  affairs. 

The  average  Chinese  scholar  is  at  a great  disadvantage  in  the 
lack  of  the  apparatus  for  study.  In  a Western  land,  any  man 
with  the  slightest  claim  to  be  called  a scholar,  would  be  able  to 
answer  in  a short  time,  a vast  range  of  questions,  with  intelli- 
gent accuracy.  This  he  would  do,  not  so  much  by  means  of 
his  own  miscellaneous  information,  as  by  his  books  of  refer- 
ence. The  various  theories  as  to  the  location  of  the  Garden 
of  Eden,  the  dimensions  of  the  Great  Pyramid,  the  prob- 


VILLAGE  SCHOOLS  AND  TRAVELLING  SCHOLARS  97 


able  authorship  of  the  Junius  Letters,  the  highest  latitude 
reached  in  polar  exploration,  the  names  of  the  generals  who 
conducted  the  fourth  Peloponnesian  war — all  these,  and  thou- 
sands of  similar  matters,  could  be  at  once  elucidated  by  means 
of  a dictionary  of  antiquities,  a manual  of  ancient  or  modern 
history,  a biographical  dictionary,  and  an  encyclopedia.  To 
the  ordinary  Chinese  scholar,  such  helps  as  these  are  entirely 
wanting.  He  owns  very  few  books ; for  in  the  country  where 
printing  was  invented,  books  are  the  luxury  of  the  rich. 

The  standard  dictionary  of  Chinese,  is  that  compiled  two 
centuries  ago  in  the  K'ang  Hsi  period,  and  is  alleged  to  con- 
tain 44,449  characters,  but  of  these  an  immense  number  are 
obsolete  and  synonomous,  and  only  serve  the  purpose  of  be- 
wildering the  student.  Within  the  past  two  generations  the 
Chinese  language  has  undergone  a remarkable  development, 
owing  to  the  contact  of  China  with  her  neighbours.  All  the 
modern  sciences  have  obtruded  themselves,  but  there  is  no  in- 
terest in  the  coordination  of  these  new  increments  to  their  lan- 
guage on  the  part  of  Chinese  scholars,  to  whom  K'ang  Hsi’s 
lexicon  is  amply  sufficient. 

In  order  to  attain  success  in  Chinese  composition,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  be  acquainted  with  the  force  of  every  character,  as  a 
means  to  which,  access  to  this  standard  dictionary,  would  seem 
to  be  indispensable.  Yet,  though  invaluable,  it  is  not  in  the 
possession  of  one  scholar  in  fifty.  Its  place  is  generally  taken 
by  a small  compendium,  analogous  to  what  we  should  call  a 
pocket-manual,  in  which  the  characters  are  arranged  according 
to  the  sound,  and  not  according  to  the  radicals,  as  in  K'ang 
Hsi. 

Pupils  are  seldom  taught  the  214  radicals,  and  many  per- 
sons who  have  spent  years  at  school  have  no  idea  how  to  use 
K'ang  Hsi’s  dictionary,  when  it  is  put  into  their  hands. 
Within  a circle  of  eight  or  ten  villages,  there  may  be  only  a 
single  copy,  and  if  it  is  necessary  to  obtain  more  accurate  in- 
formation than  is  to  be  had  in  the  pocket-dictionary,  the  in- 


98 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


quirer  must  go  to  the  village  where  there  is  a copy  of  K‘ang 
Hsi,  and  “borrow  light”  there. 

But  such  an  extreme  measure  is  seldom  considered  necessary. 
The  incessant  study  of  the  Classics  has  made  all  the  characters 
in  them  familiar.  Those  who  write  essays  can  compose  them 
with  the  aid  of  these  characters  only,  and  as  for  miscellaneous 
characters — that  is,  those  not  found  in  the  Classics — why  should 
one  care  for  them  ? A good  edition  of  K'ang  Hsi,  with  clear 
type  and  no  false  characters,  might  cost,  if  new,  as  much  as 
the  village  schoolmaster  would  receive  for  his  whole  year’s 
work. 

At  examinations  below  that  for  the  second  degree,  a knowl- 
edge of  history  is  said  to  be  as  superfluous  as  an  acquaintance 
with  the  dictionary.  Nine  out  of  ten  candidates  at  the  lower 
examinations  know  little  of  the  history  of  China,  except  what 
they  have  learned  from  the  Trimetrical  Classic,  or  picked  up 
from  the  classics.  The  perusal  of  compendiums  of  history, 
even  if  such  are  available,  is  the  employment  of  leisure,  and 
the  composition  of  essays  as  a business  once  entered  upon, 
there  is  no  leisure. 

One  occasionally  meets  a teacher  who  has  made  a specialty 
of  history,  but  these  men  are  rare.  Historical  allusions  often 
lie  afloat  in  the  minds  of  Chinese  scholars,  like  snatches  of 
poetry,  the  origin  and  connection  of  which  are  unknown. 
Many  scholars  who  have  the  knack  of  picking  up  and  appro- 
priating such  spiculse  of  knowledge,  acquire  the  art  of  dex- 
trously  weaving  them  into  examination  essays  and  owe  their 
success  to  this  circumstance  alone,  whereas  if  they  were  ex- 
amined upon  the  historical  connection  of  the  incidents  which 
they  have  thus  cited,  they  would  be  unable  to  reply.  But  as 
long  as  the  use  of  such  allusions  in  essays  is  felicitous,  no  ques- 
tions are  asked,  and  the  desired  end  is  attained.  “The  Cat 
that  catches  the  Rat  is  a good  Cat,”  says  the  adage,  and  it  is 
no  matter  if  the  Cat  is  blind,  and  the  Rat  is  a dead  one  ! 

The  Peking  Gazette  occasionally  contains  memorials  from  offi- 

a 


VILLAGE  SCHOOLS  AND  TRAVELLING  SCHOLARS  99 


cers  asking  that  certain  sums  be  set  apart  for  the  maintenance 
of  a library  in  some  central  city,  to  aid  poor  students  in  the 
prosecution  of  their  studies.  If  there  were  libraries  on  a large 
scale  in  every  district  city,  they  would  be  valuable  and  much- 
needed  helps.  But  so  far  as  appears,  for  all  practical  purposes, 
they  scarcely  exist  at  all.  ^ 

The  Chinese  method  of  writing  history,  is  what  Sydney  Smith  N 


called  the  antediluvian,  that,  namely,  in  which  the  writer  pro- 
ceeds upon  the  hypothesis  that  the  life  of  the  reader  is  to  be  as 
long  as  that  of  Methuselah.  Projected  upon  this  tremendous 
plan,  the  standard  histories  are  not  only  libraries  in  size,  but 
are  enormously  expensive  in  price.  In  a certain  District  (or 
County)  it  is  a well-known  fact  that  there  is  only  one  such  his- 
tory, which  belongs  to  a wealthy  family,  and  which  one  could 
no  more  “borrow,”  than  he  could  borrow  the  family  grave- 
yard, and  which  even  if  it  could  be  borrowed  would  prove  to 
be  a wilderness  of  learning.  It  is  indeed  a proverb,  that  “ He 
that  would  know  things  ancient  and  modern,  must  peruse  five 
cartloads  of  books.” 

But  even  after  this  labour,  his  range  of  learning,  gauged  by 
r Occidental  standards,  would  be  found  singularly  inadequate. 
According  to  Chinese  ideas,  the  history  of  the  reigning  dy- 
nasty is  not  a proper  object  of  knowledge,  and  histories  gener- 
ally end  at  the  close  of  the  Ming  Dynasty,  about  250  years 
ago.  If  any  one  has  a curiosity  to  learn  of  what  has  happened 
since  that  time,  he  can  be  gratified  by  waiting  a few  decades 
or  centuries,  when  the  dynasty  shall  have  changed,  and  the 
records  of  the  Great  Pure  Dynasty  can  be  impartially  written. 
Imagine  a History  of  England  which  should  call  a halt  at  the 
House  of  Hanover ! 

The  result  of  the  various  causes  here  indicated,  combined 
with  the  grave  defects  in  the  system  of  education,  is  that  mul- 
titudes of  Chinese  scholars  know  next  to  nothing  about  matters 
directly  in  the  line  of  their  studies,  and  in  regard  to  which  we 
should  consider  ignorance  positively  disgraceful.  A venerable 


* 


IOO 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


teacher  remarked  to  the  writer  with  a charming  naivete  that  he 
had  never  understood  the  allusions  in  the  Trimetrical  Classic 
(which  stands  at  the  very  threshold  of  Chinese  study),  until  at 
the  age  of  sixty  he  had  an  opportunity  to  read  a Universal 
History,  prepared  by  a missionary,  in  which  for  the  first  time 
Chinese  history  was  made  accessible  to  him. 

The  encyclopedias  and  works  of  reference,  which  the  Chinese 
have  compiled  in  overwhelming  abundance,  are  as  useless  to 
the  common  scholar  as  the  hieroglyphics  of  Egypt.  He  never 
saw  these  works,  and  he  has  never  heard  of  them.  The  infor- 
mation condensed  into  a small  volume  like  Mayers’  Chinese 
Reader’s  Manual,  could  not  be  drawn  from  a whole  platoon  of 
ordinary  scholars.  Knowledge  of  this  sort  the  scholar  must 
pick  up  as  he  goes  along,  remembering  everything  that  he  reads 
or  hears;  and  much  of  it  will  be  derived  from  cheap  little 
books,  badly  printed,  and  full  of  false  characters,  prepared  on 
no  assignable  plan,  and  covering  no  definite  ground. 

The  cost  of  Chinese  books  being  practically  prohibitory  to 
teachers  who  are  poor,  they  are  sometimes  driven  to  copy  them, 
as  was  the  habit  of  the  monks  in  the  middle  ages.  The  writer 
is  well  acquainted  with  a schoolmaster  who  spent  the  spare  time 
of  several  years  in  copying  a work  in  eight  octavo  volumes,  in- 
volving the  notation  of  somewhere  between  50,00c  and  100,000 
characters,  to  the  great  injury  of  his  health  and  of  his  eye- 
sight. -v 

The  whole  plan  of  Chinese  study  has  been  aptly  called  intel- 
lectual infanticide.  The  outcome  of  it  is  that  it  is  quite  pos- 
sible that  the  village  scholar  who  has  the  entire  Classics  at  his 
tongue’s  end,  who  has  been  examined  before  the  Literary  Chan- 
cellor more  times  than  he  can  remember,  may  not  know  fact 
from  fiction,  nor  history  from  mythology.  He  is,  perhaps,  not 
certain  whether  a particular  historical  character  lived  in  the 
Han  Dynasty  or  in  the  Ming  Dynasty,  though  the  discrepancy 
involves  a matter  of  1,000  or  1,200  years.  He  does  not  pro- 
fess to  be  positive  whether  a given  name  represents  a real  per- 


VILLAGE  SCHOOLS  AND  TRAVELLING  SCHOLARS  ioi 


son,  or  whether  it  may  not  perhaps  have  been  merely  one  of 
the  dramatis  personae  of  a theatrical  play. 

He  cannot  name  the  governors  or  governors-general  of  three 
out  of  the  eighteen  provinces,  nor  does  he  know  the  capitals 
of  a third  of  those  provinces.  It  is  enough  for  him  that  any 
particular  place  in  China,  the  location  of  which  he  is  ignorant 
of,  is  “south-side.”  He  never  studied  any  geography  ancient 
or  modern,  he  never  saw  an  ancient  atlas  nor  a modern  map  of 
China — never  in  fact  heard  of  one. 

An  acquaintance  of  the  writer’s,  who  was  a pupil  in  a mis- 
sion school,  sent  to  a reading  man  of  his  village  a copy  of  a 
Universal  Geography  in  the  Mandarin  Colloquial,  the  explana- 
tions of  which  would  seem  to  render  mistake  as  to  its  purport 
almost  impossible.  Yet  the  recipient  of  the  work,  after  pro- 
tracted study  of  it,  could  make  nothing  whatever  of  the  vol- 
ume, and  called  to  his  aid  two  friends,  one  of  whom  was  a 
literary  graduate,  and  all  three  of  them  puzzled  over  the  maps 
and  text  for  three  days,  at  the  end  of  which  time  they  all  gave 
the  matter  up  as  an  insoluble  riddle,  and  determined  in  des- 
pair to  await  the  return  of  the  donor  of  the  book,  to  explain 
what  it  was  about ! 

This  trait  of  intellectual  obtuseness,  is  far  enough  from  being 
exceptional  in  Chinese  scholars.  With  a certain  class  of  them, 
a class  easily  recognized,  it  is  the  rule,  and  it  is  a natural  out- 
come of  the  mode  and  process  of  their  education.  Although 
the  education  of  a Chinese  scholar  is  almost  exclusively  de- 
voted to  acquiring  facility  of  composition,  it  is  composition  of 
one  variety  only,  the  examination  essay.  Outside  of  examina- 
tion halls,  however,  the  examination  essay,  even  in  China,  plays 
a comparatively  small  part,  and  a person  whose  sole  forte  is  the 
production  of  such  essays  often  shows  to  very  little  advantage 
in  any  other  line  of  business.  He  cannot  write  a letter  without 
allowing  the  “seven  empty  particles”  to  tyrannize  over  his 
pen.  He  employs  a variety  of  set  forms,  such  as  that  he  has 
received  your  epistle  and  respectfully  bathed  himself  before  he 


102 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


ventured  to  open  it  (a  very  exaggerated  instance  of  hyperbole), 
but  he  very  likely  neglects  to  inform  you  from  what  place  he  is 
writing  and  if  he  is  reporting,  for  example,  a lawsuit,  he  prob- 
ably omits  altogether  several  items  of  vital  importance  to  a 
correct  comprehension  of  the  case.  In  a majority  of  instances 
he  is  miserably  poor,  often  has  no  employment  whatever,  and 
no  prospect  of  obtaining  any.  If  he  becomes  acquainted  with 
a foreigner,  you  are  aware,  before  he  has  made  three  calls,  that 
he  is  in  quest  of  a situation.  You  inquire  what  he  can  do, 
and  with  a pathetic  simplicity  he  assures  you  that  he  can  do 
some  things,  and  is  really  not  a useless  person.  He  can  in- 
deed, write  from  a copy,  or  from  dictation  if  an  eye  be  con- 
stantly kept  upon  him  to  prevent  the  notation  of  wrong  char- 
acters. But  it  will  not  be  surprising  if  his  employer  finds  that 
at  whatever  task  he  is  set,  he  either  does  it  ill,  or  cannot  do  it 
at  all. 

There  are  several  criticisms  which  the  average  Occidental  is 
sure  to  make  on  the  average  Chinese  schoolmaster.  He  always 
lacks  initiative  and  will  seldom  do  anything  without  explicit 
directions.  He  is  also  painfully  deficient  in  finality,  especi- 
ally in  the  statement  of  his  own  affairs,  often  consuming  an 
hour  wheeling  in  concentric  circles  about  a point  to  which  he 
should  have  come  in  three  minutes — that  is,  had  he  been  con- 
structed intellectually  as  most  Westerners  are.  Yet  he  has  un- 
doubted intellectual  abilities,  not  frequently  surprising  one  by 
the  keenness  and  justice  of  his  criticisms  and  comments.  But 
his  mind  has  been  trained  for  one  line  of  work,  and  often  for 
that  alone.  Every  one  knows  that  the  minds  of  the  Chinese  are 
not  by  nature  analytic ; neither  are  they  synthetic.  They  may 
suppose  themselves  to  have  the  clearest  perception  of  the  way 
in  which  a statement  ought  to  be  made,  but  a whole  platoon  of 
teachers  will  not  seldom  spend  several  days  in  working  over 
and  over  an  epitome  of  some  matter  of  business  which  happens 
to  be  somewhat  complicated,  and  after  all  with  results  unsatis- 
factory to  themselves,  and  still  more  so  to  the  Occidental  who 


VILLAGE  SCHOOLS  AND  TRAVELLING  SCHOLARS  103 


fails  to  understand  why  it  could  not  have  been  finished  in  two 
hours.  The  same  phenomenon  is  often  witnessed  in  their 
efforts  to  assimilate  unfamiliar  works  which  are  not  geographical. 
If  a reading  man  is  invited  to  peruse  one  and  make  an  abstract 
of  it,  he  generally  declines,  remarking  that  he  does  not  know 
how,  a proposition  which  he  can  speedily  prove  with  a certainty 
equal  to  any  demonstration  in  Euclid. 

The  inborn  conservatism  of  the  Chinese  race  is  exhibited  in 
the  average  literary  man,  whatever  the  degree  of  his  attain- 
ments. To  change  his  accustomed  way  of  doing  anything  is  to 
give  his  intellectual  faculties  a wrench  akin  to  physical  disloca- 
tion of  a hip-bone.  Chinese  writing  is  in  perpendicular 
columns,  and  if  horizontal  reads  from  right  to  left — the  reverse 
of  English.  A fossilized  Chinese  whom  the  writer  set  to  not- 
ing down  sentences  in  a ruled  foreign  blank-book  could  not  be 
induced  to  follow  the  lines  as  directed,  but  wished  to  make 
columns  to  which  he  was  used.  When  the  foreign  way  was  in- 
sisted upon,  he  simply  turned  the  book  partly  around  and 
wrote  on  the  lines  perpendicularly  as  before  ! He  would  not 
be  a party  to  violent  rearrangement  of  the  ancient  symbols  of 
thought.  Such  a man’s  mind  resembles  an  obsolete  high  bicycle 
— very  good  if  one  but  knows  how  to  work  it,  but  not  quite  safe 
for  any  others.  There  is  another  similarity  likewise  in  the  cir- 
cumstance that  many  Chinese  who  have  some  degree  of  scholar- 
ship are  not  expecting  to  employ  their  intellectual  faculties  ex- 
cept when  they  happen  to  be  called  for.  One  is  often  told  by 
Chinese  who  have  gone  from  home  for  some  considerable  time, 
that  he  cannot  read  something  which  has  been  offered  to  him, 
as  he  has  left  his  glasses  at  home,  not  supposing  that  he  should 
have  any  use  for  them.  A greater  intellectual  contrast  be- 
tween the  East  and  the  West  it  might  not  be  easy  to  name. 

To  almost  all  Chinese  the  form  of  a written  character  ap- 
pears to  be  of  indefinitely  greater  importance  than  its  meaning. 
Those  who  are  learning  to  read,  or  who  can  read  only  imper- 
fectly, are  generally  so  completely  absorbed  in  the  mere  enun- 


104 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


ciation  of  a character,  that  they  will  not  and  probably  cannot  pay 
the  smallest  attention  to  any  explanation  as  to  its  purport,  the 
consideration  of  which  appears  to  be  regarded  as  of  no  con- 
sequence whatever,  if  not  an  interruption.  But  the  scholar  and 
the  new  beginner  have  this  admirable  talent  in  common,  that 
they  are  almost  always  able  completely  to  abstract  themselves 
from  their  surroundings,  disregarding  all  distractions.  This 
valuable  faculty,  as  already  remarked  and  a phenomenally  de- 
veloped verbal  memory  are  perhaps  the  most  enviable  results 
of  the  educational  process  which  we  are  describing.  As  an 
excellent  example,  however,  of  the  degree  to  which  verbal 
memory  extinguishes  the  judgment,  may  be  mentioned  a coun- 
try schoolmaster  (a  literary  graduate)  whom  the  writer  inter- 
viewed in  a dispensary  waiting-room  as  to  the  respective  deserts 
of  Chou,  the  tyrant  whose  crimes  put  an  end  to  the  Ancient 
Shang  Dynasty,  and  Pi  Kan,  a relative  whom  Chou  ordered 
disemboweled  in  mere  wantonness  in  order  to  see  if  a Sage 
really  has  seven  openings  in  his  heart.  The  teacher  recollected 
the  incident  perfectly,  and  cited  a passage  from  the  Classics 
referring  to  it,  but  declined  to  express  any  judgment  on  the 
merits  of  these  men  as  he  had  forgotten  what  “ the  small  char- 
acters ” (the  commentary)  said  about  them ! 

We  have  already  adverted  to  some  of  the  principal  defects  in 
the  routine  of  Chinese  schools,  but  there  is  another  which 
should  not  be  omitted.  There  is  scarcely  a man,  woman  or 
child  in  China,  who  will  not  spend  a considerable  fraction  of 
life  in  handling  brass  cash,  in  larger  or  smaller  quantities.  It 
is  a matter  of  great  importance  to  each  individual,  to  be  able 
to  reckon,  if  not  rapidly,  at  least  correctly,  so  as  to  save 
trouble,  and  what  is  to  them  of  far  more  importance,  money. 
It  seems  almost  incredible  that  for  instruction  in  this  most  neces- 
sary of  arts,  there  is  no  provision  whatever.  To  add,  to  sub- 
tract, to  divide,  to  multiply,  to  know  what  to  do  with  decimal 
fractions,  these  are  daily  necessities  of  every  one  in  China,  and 
yet  these  are  things  that  no  one  teaches.  Such  processes,  like 


VILLAGE  SCHOOLS  AND  TRAVELLING  SCHOLARS  105 


the  art  of  bookkeeping  in  Western  lands  fifty  years  ago,  must 
be  learned  by  practical  experience  in  shops  and  places  of  busi- 
ness. The  village  schoolmaster  not  only  does  not  teach  the  use 
of  the  abacus,  or  reckoning  board,  but  it  is  by  no  means  cer- 
tain that  he  understands  it  himself.  Imagine  a place  in  Eng- 
land or  in  the  United  States  where  the  schoolboy  is  taught 
nothing  of  the  rules  of  arithmetic  at  school,  and  where  he  is 
obliged,  if  he  desires  such  knowledge,  to  learn  the  simple  rules 
of  addition,  etc.,  from  one  person,  those  for  compound  num- 
bers from  another  person,  not  improbably  in  a distant  village, 
the  measurement  of  land  from  yet  a third  individual,  no  one  of 
them  being  able  to  give  him  all  the  help  he  requires. 

The  Chinese  reckoning  board  is  no  doubt  a very  ingenious 
contrivance  for  facilitating  computation,  but  it  is  nevertheless  a 
very  clumsy  one.  It  has  the  fatal  defect  of  leaving  no  trace  of 
the  processes  through  which  the  results  have  been  reached,  so 
that  if  any  mistake  occurs,  it  is  necessary  to  repeat  them  all,  on 
the  reiterative  principle  of  the  House  that  Jack  Built,  until  the 
answer  is,  or  is  supposed  to  be  correct.  That  all  the  compli- 
cated accounts  of  a great  commercial  people  like  the  Chinese, 
should  be  settled  only  through  such  a medium,  seems  indeed 
singular.  An  expert  arrives  at  his  conclusions  with  surprising 
celerity,  but  even  those  who  are  familar  with  ordinary  reckon- 
ing, become  puzzled  the  moment  that  a problem  is  presented 
to  them  beyond  the  scope  of  the  ordinary  rules.  If  one  adult 
receives  a pound  of  grain  every  ten  days,  and  a child  half  as 
much,  what  amount  should  be  allotted  to  227  adults  and  143 
children,  for  a month  and  a half?  Over  a problem  as  simple 
as  this,  we  have  seen  a group  of  Chinese,  some  of  whom  had 
pretensions  to  classical  scholarship,  wrestle  for  half  an  hour, 
and  after  all  no  two  of  them  reached  the  same  conclusion.  In- 
deed the  greater  their  learning,  the  less  fitted  do  the  Chinese 
seem  to  be,  in  a mathematical  way,  to  struggle  with  their  en- 
vironment. 

The  object  of  the  teacher  is  to  compel  his  pupils,  first  to 


io6 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


Remember,  secondly,  to  Remember,  thirdly  and  evermore  to 
Remember.  For  every  scholar,  as  we  have  seen,  is  theoretically 
a candidate  for  the  district  examinations,  where  he  must  write 
upon  themes  selected  from  any  one  of  a great  variety  of 
books.  He  must,  therefore,  be  prepared  to  recall  at  a 
moment’s  notice,  not  only  the  passage  itself,  but  also  its  con- 
nections, and  the  explanations  of  the  commentary,  as  a prereq- 
uisite for  even  attempting  an  essay. 

Under  the  conditions  of  the  civil  service  examinations,  as 
they  have  been  conducted  for  many  hundred  years,  a system  of 
school  instruction  like  the  one  here  described,  or  which  shall  at 
least  produce  the  same  results,  is  an  imperative  necessity  in 
China.  A reform  cannot  begin  anywhere  until  a reform  begins 
everywhere.  The  excellence  of  the  present  system  is  often  as- 
sumed and  in  proof,  the  great  number  of  distinguished  schol- 
ars which  it  produces,  is  adduced.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  it 
is  absolutely  necessary  to  take  into  account  the  innumerable 
multitudes  who  derive  little  or  no  benefit  from  their  schooling. 
Nothing  is  more  common  than  to  meet  men  who,  although 
they  have  spent  from  one  to  ten  years  at  school,  when  asked  if 
they  can  read,  reply  with  literal  truth  that  their  knowledge  of 
characters  has  been  “ laid  aside  ” — in  other  words  they  have  for- 
gotten almost  everything  that  they  once  knew,  and  are  now  be- 
come “staring  blind  men,”  an  expression  which  is  a synonym 
for  one  who  cannot  read. 

It  is  a most  significant  fact  that  the  Chinese  themselves  rec- 
ognize the  truth  that  their  school  system  tends  to  benumb  the 
mental  faculties,  turning  the  teachers  into  machines,  and  the 
pupils  into  parrots.  On  the  supposition  that  all  the  scholars 
were  to  continue  their  studies,  and  were  eventually  to  be 
examined  for  a degree,  it  might  be  difficult  to  suggest  any  sys- 
tem which  would  take  the  place  of  the  one  now  in  use,  in  which 
a most  capacious  memory  is  a principal  condition  of  success. 

In  the  Village  School,  however,  it  is  within  bounds  to  esti- 
mate that  not  one  in  twenty  of  the  scholars — and  more  prob- 


VILLAGE  SCHOOLS  AND  TRAVELLING  SCHOLARS  107 


ably,  not  three  in  a hundred — have  any  reasonable  prospect  of 
carrying  their  studies  to  anything  like  this  point.  The  practi- 
cal result,  therefore,  is  to  compel  at  least  ninety-seven  scholars 
to  pursue  a certain  routine,  simply  because  it  is  the  only  known 
method  by  which  three  other  scholars  can  compete  for  a de- 
gree. In  other  words,  nineteen  pupils  are  compelled  to  wear  a 
heavy  cast-iron  yoke,  in  order  to  keep  company  with  a twen- 
tieth, who  is  trying  to  get  used  to  it  as  a step  towards  obtaining 
a future  name  ! If  this  inconvenient  inequality  is  pointed  out 
to  teachers  or  to  patrons,  and  if  they  are  asked  whether  it 
would  not  be  better  to  adopt,  for  the  nineteen  who  will  never 
go  to  the  examinations,  a system  which  involves  less  memorizing, 
and  a wider  range  of  learning  in  the  brief  time  which  is  all 
that  most  of  the  pupils  can  spend  at  school,  they  reply,  with 
perfect  truth,  that  so  far  as  they  are  aware  there  is  no  other 
system ; that  even  if  the  patrons  desired  to  make  the  experi- 
ment (which  would  never  be  the  case),  they  could  find  no 
teacher  to  conduct  it ; and  that  even  if  a teacher  should  wish 
to  institute  such  a reform  (which  would  never  happen),  he 
would  find  no  one  to  employ  him. 

The  extreme  difficulty  which  men  of  some  education  often 
find  in  keeping  from  starvation,  gives  rise  to  a class  of  persons 
known  as  Strolling  Scholars,  ( yu  hsiao),  who  travel  about  the 
country  vending  paper,  pictures,  lithographs  of  tablets,  pens  and 
ink.  These  individuals  are  not  to  be  confounded  with  travelling 
pedlars,  who,  though  they  deal  in  the  same  articles,  make  no 
pretension  to  learning,  and  generally  convey  their  goods  on  a 
wheelbarrow,  whereas  the  Strolling  Scholar  cannot  manage 
anything  larger  than  a pack. 

When  a Strolling  Scholar  reaches  a schoolhouse,  he  enters, 
lowers  his  bundle,  and  makes  a profound  bow  to  the  teacher, 
who  (though  much  displeased  at  his  appearance)  must  return 
the  courtesy.  If  there  are  large  pupils,  the  stranger  bows  to 
them  and  addresses  them  as  his  Younger  Brothers.  The  teacher 
then  makes  some  inquiries  as  to  his  name,  etc.  If  he  turns  out 


io8 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


to  be  a mere  pretender,  without  real  scholarship,  the  teacher 
drops  the  conversation,  and  very  likely  leaves  the  schoolroom. 
This  is  a tacit  signal  to  the  larger  scholars  to  get  rid  of  the 
visitor.  They  place  a few  cash  on  the  table,  perhaps  not  more 
than  five,  or  even  three,  which  the  Strolling  Scholar  picks  up, 
and  with  a bow  departs.  If  he  sells  anything,  his  profits  are  of 
the  most  moderate  description — perhaps  three  cash  on  each 
pen,  and  two  cash  on  each  cake  of  ink.  With  a view  to  this 
class  of  demands,  a small  fund  is  sometimes  kept  on  hand  by 
the  larger  scholars,  who  compel  the  younger  ones  to  contribute 
to  it. 

If,  however,  the  Strolling  Scholar  is  a scholar  in  fact,  as  well 
as  in  name,  so  that  his  attainments  become  apparent,  the  teacher 
is  obliged  to  treat  him  with  much  greater  civility.  Some  of 
these  roving  pundits  make  a specialty  of  historical  anecdotes, 
and  miscellaneous  knowledge,  and  in  a general  conversation 
with  the  teacher,  the  latter,  who  has  not  improbably  confined 
himself  to  the  beaten  routine  of  classical  study,  is  at  a disad- 
vantage. In  this  case,  other  scholars  of  the  village  are  perhaps 
invited  in  to  talk  with  the  stranger,  who  may  be  requested  to 
write  a pair  of  scrolls,  and  asked  to  take  a meal  with  the 
teacher,  a small  present  in  money  being  made  to  him  on  his 
departure. 

It  is  related  that  a Strolling  Scholar  of  this  sort,  being  present 
when  a teacher  was  explaining  the  Classics,  deliberately  took 
off  his  shoes  and  stockings  in  presence  of  the  whole  school. 
Being  reproved  by  the  teacher  for  this  breach  of  propriety,  he 
replied  that  his  dirty  stockings  had  as  good  an  ‘ ‘ odour  ’ ’ as 
the  teacher’s  classical  explanations.  To  this  the  teacher 
naturally  replied  by  a challenge  to  the  stranger  to  explain  the 
Classics  himself,  that  they  might  learn  from  him.  The  Stroll- 
ing Scholar,  who  was  a person  of  considerable  ability,  had  been 
waiting  for  just  such  an  opportunity,  and  taking  up  the  explana- 
tion, went  on  with  it  in  such  an  elegant  style,  “every  sentence 
being  like  an  examination  essay,”  that  the  teacher  was  amazed 


VILLAGE  SCHOOLS  AND  TRAVELLING  SCHOLARS  109 


and  ashamed,  and  entertained  him  handsomely.  If  a teacher 
were  to  treat  with  disrespect  one  whose  scholarship  was 
obviously  superior  to  his  own,  he  would  expose  himself  to  dis- 
respect in  turn,  and  might  be  disgraced  before  his  own  pupils, 
an  occurrence  which  he  is  very  anxious  to  avoid. 

In  China  the  relation  between  teacher  and  pupil  is  far  more 
intimate  than  in  Western  lands.  One  is  supposed  to  be  under 
a great  weight  of  obligation  to  the  master  who  has  enlightened 
his  darkness,  and  if  this  master  should  be  at  any  time  in  need 
of  assistance,  it  is  thought  to  be  no  more  than  the  duty  of  the 
pupil  to  afford  it.  This  view  of  the  case  is  obviously  one  which 
it  is  for  the  interest  of  teachers  to  perpetuate,  and  the  result 
of  the  theory  and  of  the  attendant  practice  is  that  there  are 
many  decayed  teachers  roving  about,  living  on  the  precarious 
generosity  of  their  former  pupils. 


X 


CHINESE  HIGHER  EDUCATION — THE  VILLAGE  HIGH  SCHOOL — 
EXAMINATIONS — RECENT  EDUCATIONAL  EDICTS 

'\X7'HEN  it  is  definitely  decided  that  a pupil  is  to  study  for 
* * the  examinations,  he  enters  a high  school,  which  differs 
in  many  respects  from  the  ones  which  he  has  hitherto  attended. 
The  teacher  must  be  a man  of  more  than  average  attainments,  or 
he  can  neither  gain  nor  hold  such  a place.  His  salary  is  much 
greater  than  that  given  by  the  ordinary  school.  The  pupils  are 
much  harder  worked,  being  compelled  to  spend  almost  all  their 
waking  hours  in  the  study  of  model  examination  essays.  These 
are  to  be  committed  to  memory  by  the  score  and  even  by  the 
hundred,  as  a result  of  which  process  the  mind  of  the  student 
gradually  becomes  so  saturated  with  the  materials  of  which 
they  are  composed,  that  he  will  always  be  able  to  take  advan- 
tage of  the  accumulations  of  his  patient  memorizing  in  weaving 
his  own  compositions  in  the  examination  hall. 

During  the  preceding  years  of  study  he  has  already  com- 
mitted to  memory  the  most  important  parts  of  the  literature  of 
his  native  land.  He  is  now  intimately  familiar  with  the  ortho- 
dox explanations  of  the  same.  He  has  been  gradually  but 
thoroughly  inducted  into  the  mystery  of  tones  and  rhymes,  the 
art  of  constructing  poetry,  and  the  weaving  of  antithetical 
couplets,  beginning  with  the  announcement  that  the  heaven  is 
high,  balanced  by  the  proposition  that  the  earth  is  thick,  and 
proceeding  to  the  intricate  and  well-nigh  inscrutable  laws  by 
which  relation  and  correlation,  thesis  and  antithesis  are  gov- 
erned. He  has  now  to  learn  by  carefully  graded  stages  the  art 
of  employing  all  his  preceding  learning  in  the  production  of  the 

no 


CHINESE  HIGHER  EDUCATION 


in 


essay,  which  will  hereafter  constitute  the  warp  and  the  woof  of 
his  intellectual  fabric.  In  future  he  will  eat,  drink,  write,  talk, 
and  sleep  essays,  essays,  essays. 

Measured  by  Chinese  standards,  the  construction  of  a perfect 
essay  is  one  of  the  noblest  achievements  of  which  the  human 
mind  is  capable.  The  man  who  knows  all  that  has  been  pre- 
served of  the  wisdom  of  the  ancients,  and  who  can  at  a mo- 
ment’s notice  dash  off  essays  of  a symmetrical  construction, 
lofty  in  sentiment,  elevated  in  style,  and  displaying  a wide  ac- 
quaintance not  only  with  the  theme,  but  also  with  cognate  sub- 
jects, such  a man  is  fit  not  only  to  stand  before  kings,  but  before 
the  very  Son  of  Heaven  himself. 

A high  official  called  a provincial  Literary  Chancellor, 
( Hsiao  Yuan'),  is  despatched  from  Peking  to  the  provinces,  to 
hold  periodical  examinations  once  in  three  or  twice  in  five 
years.  Upon  the  occasion  of  an  emperor’s  ascending  the 
throne,  his  marriage,  the  birth  of  an  heir,  etc.,  there  are  extra 
examinations  bestowed  as  a favour  (en  k‘o).  When  the  village 
scholar  is  able  to  produce  an  essay,  and  to  write  a poem  that 
will  pass  the  scrutiny  of  this  formidable  Literary  Chancellor,  he 
may  hope  to  become  a hsiu-ts‘ai  or  graduate.  In  order  to  fit 
him  for  this  ordeal,  which  is  regarded  by  outsiders  with  awe, 
and  is  anticipated  by  the  young  candidate  himself  with  mingled 
hope  and  terror,  it  is  necessary  that  he  should  run  the  gauntlet 
of  a long  series  of  preliminary  test  examinations. 

Some  months  before  the  visit  of  the  Chancellor  is  to  take 
place,  of  which  notice  is  communicated  to  the  Governor  of  the 
Province,  and  from  him  to  the  District  Magistrates,  prepara- 
tions are  made  by  the  latter  officer  for  the  first  examination, 
which  is  held  before  him,  and  in  the  District  city.  It  is  part 
of  the  duty  of  some  of  the  numerous  staff  of  this  official  to 
disseminate  the  notice  of  such  an  impending  examination.  In 
any  Western  country,  this  would  be  accomplished  by  the  inser- 
tion of  a brief  advertisement  in  the  official  newspaper  of  the 
District,  or  County.  In  China,  where  there  are  no  newspapers, 


1 12 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


the  message  must  be  orally  delivered.  The  high  schools  in 
which  pupils  are  trained  with  special  reference  to  such  exami- 
nations, are  visited,  and  the  day  of  the  examination  notified. 
Literary  graduates  within  the  district,  who  must  be  examined 
with  reference  to  passing  a higher  grade,  are  also  informed  of 
the  date.  A small  sum,  the  equivalent  of  fifteen  or  twenty 
cents,  is  expected  by  the  yamen  messengers  as  a solace  for  the 
“bitterness”  which  they  have  suffered  in  distributing  the 
notices.  Notwithstanding  this  clumsy  method  of  circulating 
the  notifications,  it  is  rare  that  any  one  concerned  fails  to  re- 
ceive the  message. 

Those  who  intend  to  be  examined,  make  their  way  to  the 
city,  a day  or  two  in  advance  of  the  time  fixed,  that  they  may 
rent  quarters  for  the  half  month  which  they  will  be  obliged  to 
spend  there.  If  the  student  chance  to  have  friends  in  the  city, 
he  may  avoid  the  expense  of  renting  a place,  and  if  his  home 
should  be  near  the  city,  he  may  be  able  to  return  thither  at  in- 
tervals, and  thus  lessen  the  expenditure ; for  all  these  trifles  are 
important  to  the  poor  scholar,  who  has  abundant  need  of 
money.  As  many  scholars  combine  to  rent  one  room  or  one 
house,  the  cost  to  each  is  not  great,  perhaps  the  equivalent  of 
one  or  two  dollars.  Each  candidate  must  furnish  himself  with 
provisions  for  half  a month.  In  some  district  cities  there 
are  special  examination  buildings,  capable  by  crowding,  of 
seating  600  or  800  persons.  In  other  cities,  where  these  build- 
ings have  either  never  been  built,  or  have  been  allowed  to  go  to 
ruin,  the  examination  is  conducted  in  the  Confucian  temple,  or 
at  the  yamen  of  the  District  Magistrate. 

On  the  first  day  of  the  examination,  two  themes  are  given 
out  at  daylight,  by  which  time  every  candidate  must  be  in  the 
place  assigned  him,  and  from  there  he  must  not  stir.  The 
themes  are  each  taken  from  the  Four  Books,  and  the  essay  is 
not  expected  to  exceed  600  characters.  By  nine  or  ten  o’clock 
the  stamp  of  the  examiner  is  affixed  to  the  last  character  writ- 
ten in  the  essay,  preventing  further  additions  if  it  should  not  be 


CHINESE  HIGHER  EDUCATION 


”3 


finished,  and  the  essays  are  gathered  up.  About  eleven  o’clock, 
the  third  theme  is  given  out.  This  is  an  exercise  in  poetry, 
the  subject  of  which  may  be  taken  from  the  Book  of  Odes,  or 
from  some  standard  poet.  The  poem  is  to  be  composed  of  not 
more  than  sixty  characters,  five  in  each  line.  A rapid  writer 
and  composer,  may  be  able  to  hand  in  his  paper  by  three  or 
four  in  the  afternoon,  and  many  others  will  require  much 
longer.  The  limit  of  time  may  be  fixed  at  midnight,  or  pos- 
sibly at  daylight  the  next  morning.  The  physical  condition  of 
a scholar  who  has  been  pinned  to  his  seat  for  four  and  twenty 
hours,  struggling  to  produce  an  essay  and  poem  which  shall  be 
regarded  by  the  severest  critic  as  ideal,  can  be  but  faintly  im- 
agined by  the  Occidental  reader. 

The  next  two  days  being  devoted  to  the  inspection  of  the 
wilderness  of  essays  and  poems,  the  product  of  this  first  trial, 
the  unhappy  competitors  have  leisure  for  much  needed  rest  and 
sleep.  On  the  morning  of  the  fourth  day,  the  “boards  are 
hung,”  that  is,  the  list  of  those  whose  essays  have  passed,  is 
exposed.  If  the  whole  number  of  candidates  should  be  500 — 
an  extremely  moderate  estimate  for  a reasonably  populous  dis- 
trict— the  proportion  of  those  whose  hopes  are  at  once  wrecked 
may  be  half.  Only  those  whose  names  are  posted  after  the 
first  trial  can  enter  the  succeeding  one.  If  the  subordinates  of 
the  magistrate  perceive  that  a great  many  names  are  thrown 
out,  they  may  come  kneeling  before  the  magistrate,  knocking 
their  heads,  and  begging  that  he  will  kindly  allow  a few  more 
names  to  pass.  If  he  happens  to  be  in  good  humour  at  the 
moment,  he  may  grant  their  request,  which  is  not  in  the  small- 
est degree  prompted  by  any  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the  disap- 
pointed candidates,  but  on  the  important  principle,  that  the 
fewer  the  sheep,  the  smaller  will  be  the  crop  of  wool. 

The  only  fee  required  for  the  examination  is  that  paid  for 
registration,  which  amounts  to  about  twenty  cents.  Not  the 
name  of  the  candidate  only,  but  those  of  his  father  and  grand- 
father are  to  be  recorded,  to  make  it  sure  that  no  one  legally 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


114 

disqualified  is  admitted.  The  paper  upon  which  the  examina- 
tion essays  and  poems  are  written  is  of  a special  kind,  sold  only 
at  the  yamen,  and  at  a cost  for  each  examination  equivalent  to 
about  ten  cents,  or  fifty  cents  for  the  whole  five  examinations, 
but  the  candidate  must  pay  three-fifths  of  this  amount  for  the 
first  supply,  whether  he  is  admitted  to  a further  examination  or 
not.  If  he  is,  he  becomes  entitled  to  a rebate  of  this  amount 
on  his  subsequent  purchases. 

On  the  fifth  or  sixth  day,  those  who  have  been  selected  from 
the  whole  number  examined,  again  file  into  the  examination 
hall,  and  are  seated  according  to  their  newly-acquired  rank  for 
the  second  test.  Three  themes  are  again  propounded,  the  first 
from  the  Four  Books,  the  second  from  one  of  the  Five  Classics, 
the  third  a poetical  one,  in  a manner  similar  to  the  first  exami- 
nation. A day  or  two  is  allowed  for  the  inspection  of  these 
essays,  when  the  boards  are  again  hung,  and  the  result  is  to 
drop  out  perhaps  one-half  of  the  competitors. 

At  the  third  examination  the  themes,  which  are  given  out 
somewhat  later  than  in  the  previous  trials,  are  two  in  number, 
one  from  the  Four  Books,  the  other  poetical.  About  noon  of 
this  day,  the  magistrate  has  a meal  of  vermicelli,  rice,  etc., 
sent  to  the  candidates.  By  four  in  the  afternoon  the  hall  is 
empty.  After  the  interval  of  another  day  the  boards  are  again 
hung,  indicating  that  all  but  perhaps  fifty  are  excluded  from 
further  competition. 

The  fourth  examination  begins  at  a later  hour  than  the  third, 
and  while  the  number  of  the  themes  may  be  larger  than  before 
— all  of  them  from  the  Four  Books — time  is  not  allowed  for  the 
completion  of  any  of  them.  In  addition  to  the  classical 
themes,  a philosophical  one  may  be  given.  Besides  this,  there 
are  poetical  themes,  to  be  treated  in  a way  different  from  those 
in  the  preceding  examinations,  and  much  more  difficult,  as  the 
lines  of  poetry  are  subject  also  to  the  rules  governing  the  com- 
position of  antithetical  couplets. 

The  metre,  whether  five  characters  to  a line,  or  seven,  (the 


CHINESE  HIGHER  EDUCATION 


!IS 


only  varieties  to  choose  from),  is  left  to  the  option  of  the  can- 
didate, who,  if  he  be  a fine  scholar  and  a rapid  penman,  may 
treat  the  same  theme  in  both  ways.  A meal  is  served  as  at  the 
preceding  trial,  and  by  five  or  six  o’clock,  the  hall  is  empty. 
After  the  interval  of  another  day,  the  fourth  board  is  hung,  and 
the  number  who  have  survived  this  examination  is  found  to  be 
a small  one — perhaps  twenty  or  thirty. 

A day  later  the  final  examination  occurs.  The  theme  is  from 
the  Four  Books,  and  may  be  treated  fully  or  partially  according 
to  the  examiner’s  orders  at  the  moment.  A poem  is  required 
in  the  five-character  metre,  and  also  a transcript  of  some  sec- 
tion of  the  “Sacred  Edicts”  of  the  Emperor  Yung  Cheng. 
The  design  of  the  latter  is  to  furnish  a specimen  of  the  candi- 
date’s handwriting,  in  case  it  should  be  afterward  needed  for 
comparison.  A meal  is  furnished  as  before,  and  by  the  middle 
of  the  afternoon  the  hall  is  cleared.  The  next  day  the  board 
is  again  hung,  announcing  the  names  who  have  finally  passed. 
The  number  is  a fixed  one,  and  it  is  relatively  lowest  where  the 
population  is  most  dense.  In  two  contiguous  districts,  for  ex- 
ample, which  furnish  on  an  average  500  or  600  candidates,  the 
number  of  those  who  can  pass  is  limited,  in  the  one  case  to 
twenty  and  in  the  other  to  seventeen.  In  another  district 
where  there  are  often  2,000  candidates,  only  thirty  can  pass. 
It  thus  appears  that  the  chances  of  success  for  the  average  can- 
didate, are  extremely  tenuous. 

Every  candidate  for  a degree,  is  required  to  have  a “ surety.” 
These  are  selected  from  graduates  of  former  years,  who  have 
advanced  one  step  beyond  that  of  hsiu-ts‘ai,  to  that  of  Jing- 
sheng hsiu-ts‘ai.  The  total  number  of  sureties  is  not  neces- 
sarily large,  perhaps  four  from  each  district,  and  many  of  them 
may  be  totally  unacquainted  with  the  persons  for  whom  they 
become  thus  responsible.  The  nature  of  this  responsibility  is 
twofold,  first  to  guarantee  that  the  persons  who  enter  under  a 
particular  name,  really  bear  that  name,  and  second  that  during 
the  examination  they  will  not  violate  any  of  the  established 


1 1 6 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


rules.  If  a false  name  is  shown  to  have  been  entered,  or  if  a 
violation  of  the  rules  occurs,  the  ling-sheng  would  be  held  re- 
sponsible, and  would  be  likely  to  lose  his  own  rank  as  a grad- 
uate. Each  candidate  is  required  to  furnish  not  only  a surety, 
but  also  an  alternate  surety,  and  in  consideration  of  a present 
of  from  ten  cents  to  five  or  six  dollars,  the  ling-shSngs  are  quite 
willing  to  guarantee  as  many  candidates  as  apply.  They  must 
be  paid  in  advance,  or  they  will  prevent  the  candidate  from 
entering  the  examination  hall. 

The  preliminary  examinations  in  the  District  city,  having 
been  thus  completed,  are  followed  about  a month  later  by  simi- 
lar ones  in  the  Prefectural  city,  before  the  Prefect,  (chih-fu). 
Here  are  gathered  candidates  from  all  the  districts  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Fu  city,  districts  ranging  in  number  accord- 
ing to  density  of  population,  from  two  or  three,  to  twelve  or 
more.  Those  who  have  failed  to  pass  the  District  examinations 
are  not  on  that  account  disqualified  from  appearing  at  the  Pre- 
fectural examinations,  which,  like  the  former,  are  intended  to 
act  as  a process  of  sifting,  in  preparation  for  the  final  and  de- 
cisive trial  before  the  Literary  Chancellor.  The  details  of  the 
Prefectural  examinations  are  similar  to  those  already  described, 
and  the  time  required  is  about  the  same.  The  number  of  can- 
didates in  a thickly-settled  Prefecture,  will  often  amount  to 
more  than  10,000.  As  no  ordinary  examination  building  will 
accommodate  so  many  at  once,  they  are  examined  in  relays. 
The  examinations  are  conducted  by  the  Prefect,  but  it  by  no 
means  follows  that  those  who  have  been  first  in  the  District  ex- 
aminations will  be  so  now.  The  order  changes,  indeed,  from 
day  to  day,  but  those  who  are  constantly  toward  the  head  of 
the  list,  are  regarded  as  certain  to  pass  the  Chancellor’s  exam- 
ination. 

The  writer  is  acquainted  with  a man  who  at  his  examination 
for  the  first  degree,  stood  last  in  a list  of  seventeen,  at  the  trial 
next  before  the  final  one.  But  in  that  test  he  was  dropped 
one  number,  missing  his  degree  by  this  narrow  margin.  His 


CHINESE  HIGHER  EDUCATION 


117 


grief  and  rage  were  so  excessive  as  to  unbalance  his  mind,  and 
for  the  greater  part  of  his  life  he  has  been  a heavy  burden  on 
his  wife,  doing  absolutely  nothing  either  for  her  support  or  for 
his  own. 

Those  who  have  already  attained  the  degree  of  hsiu-ts'ai,  are 
examined  by  themselves  for  promotion.  The  expense  of  ob- 
taining sureties  is  confined  to  the  last  two  sets  of  examinations. 
The  final  trial  before  the  Literary  Chancellor  is  conducted  with 
far  greater  care  and  caution  than  the  preliminary  ones  before 
the  local  officials.  The  candidates  having  been  duly  guaran- 
teed and  entered,  are  assigned  to  seats,  distinguished  by  the 
characters  in  the  Millenary  Classic,  which  as  already  mentioned, 
affords  a convenient  system  of  notation,  being  familiar,  and 
having  no  repeated  characters.  The  students  are  closely 
packed  together,  fifteen  or  twenty  at  each  table.  The  first 
table  is  termed  “ Heaven  ” after  the  first  character  in  the  Mil- 
lenary Classic,  and  its  occupants  are  denoted  as  “ heaven  one,” 
“heaven  two,”  etc.  Each  candidate  notes  his  designation;  for 
in  the  final  lists  of  those  who  have  passed,  no  names  are  used,  but 
only  the  description  of  the  seat  as  above  described.  Every 
student  is  carefully  searched  as  he  enters  the  hall,  to  ascertain 
whether  he  has  about  him  any  books  or  papers  which  might  aid 
him  in  his  task.  The  examination  begins  at  an  extremely 
early  hour,  the  theme  being  given  out  by  sunrise.  This  theme 
is  written  on  a large  wooden  tablet,  and  is  carried  about  to  all 
parts  of  the  room,  that  each  candidate  may  see  it  distinctly. 
It  is  also  read  out,  in  a loud  voice.  By  nine  or  ten  o’clock  an- 
other subject  is  announced  from  the  Four  Books  and  a poetical 
theme  in  five-metre  rhythm.  A rapid  writer  and  composer 
might  finish  his  work  by  one  or  two  o’clock  in  the  afternoon. 
As  in  other  examinations,  those  who  have  completed  their  tasks 
are  allowed  to  leave  the  hall  at  fixed  times,  and  in  detachments. 
By  five  or  six  p.  m.  the  time  is  up,  and  the  fatal  stamp  is 
affixed  to  the  last  character,  whatever  the  stage  of  the  composi- 
tion. During  the  whole  of  this  examination,  no  one  is  allowed 


I iS 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


on  any  pretext  whatever  to  move  from  his  position.  If  one 
should  be  taken  deathly  sick,  he  reports  to  the  superintendent 
of  his  section,  and  requests  permission  to  be  taken  out,  but  in 
this  case  he  cannot  return.  A student  who  should  merely  rise 
in  his  seat  and  look  around,  would  be  beaten  a hundred  blows 
on  his  hand,  like  a schoolboy  (as  indeed  he  is  supposed  to  be), 
would  be  compelled  to  kneel  during  the  whole  of  the  examina- 
tion, and  at  the  close  would  be  ejected  in  disgrace,  losing  the 
opportunity  for  examination  until  another  year. 

Some  years  ago  the  examination  hall  of  the  city  of  Chi-nan 
Fu,  the  capital  of  Shan-tung,  was  in  a very  bad  condition. 
The  Chancellor  held  the  summer  examinations  at  that  city,  be- 
cause the  situation  is  near  to  hills,  and  to  water,  and  thus  was 
supposed  to  be  a little  cooler  than  others.  At  one  of  these  ex- 
aminations, a violent  rain  came  on,  and  the  roof  of  the  build- 
ing leaked  like  a sieve.  Many  of  the  poor  candidates  were 
wet  to  the  skin,  their  essays  and  poems  being  likewise  in  soak, 
yet  there  they  were  obliged  to  remain,  riveted  to  their  seats. 
The  unhealthy  season  caused  much  sickness,  and  many  of  the 
candidates  suffered  severely,  seven  or  eight  dying  of  cholera 
while  the  examinations  were  in  progress.  That  this  is  not  an 
exceptional  state  of  things,  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  it  has 
since  been  repeated.  In  the  autumn  examinations  for  1888,  at 
this  same  place,  it  was  reported  that  over  one  hundred  persons 
died  in  the  quarters,  either  of  cholera  or  of  some  epidemic 
closely  resembling  it.  Of  these,  some  were  servants,  some 
copyists,  some  students,  and  a few  officials.  On  the  same  oc- 
casion one  of  the  main  examination  buildings  fell  in,  as  a result 
of  which  several  persons  were  said  to  have  been  killed.  The 
utterly  demoralizing  effect  of  such  occurrences  is  obvious. 

On  the  second  or  third  day  after  the  examinations  the  boards 
are  hung,  and  the  number  of  those  successful  appears.  Yet  to 
make  the  choice  doubly  sure,  and  to  guard  against  fraud  and 
accidents,  still  another  examination  is  added,  which  is  final  and 
decisive.  In  addition  to  the  twenty  or  thirty  who  have  passed, 


CHINESE  HIGHER  EDUCATION 


1 19 

half  as  many  more  names  are  taken  of  those  next  highest, 
making  perhaps  thirty  or  forty  candidates,  between  whom  the 
final  choice  will  lie.  At  this  examination  a theme  from  the 
Four  Books  is  again  announced,  on  which  only  a fragment,  the 
beginning,  middle  or  end  of  an  essay,  is  to  be  produced,  under 
the  immediate  eye  of  the  Chancellor  himself.  The  number  of 
those  examined  being  so  limited,  it  is  easy  to  supervise  them 
strictly,  and  changes  in  the  previous  order  are  sure  to  occur. 

When  the  results  of  this  examination  are  posted,  the  persons 
who  have  finally  passed,  and  whose  talents  are  definitely  ad- 
judged to  be  “ flourishing,”  are  for  the  first  time  known. 
Those  who  have  failed  at  any  stage  of  the  trial  may  return  to 
their  homes,  but  those  who  have  “entered  school”  must  re- 
main at  the  Prefectural  city,  to  escort  the  Chancellor  upon  his 
way  to  the  next  city  where  he  is  to  hold  examinations. 

The  expenses  of  the  Chancellor’s  examination,  to  those  who 
fail  to  pass,  are  the  same  as  those  of  the  preceding  ones.  But 
for  those  who  have  “entered  ” there  are  other  and  most  mis- 
cellaneous expenses,  illustrating  the  Chinese  aphorism  that  it  is 
the  sick  man  who  must  furnish  the  perspiration.  The  fee  to 
the  ling-sheng  who  is  surety,  has  been  already  mentioned. 
There  are  also  other  fees  or  gratuities,  the  amount  of  which 
will  depend  upon  the  circumstances  of  the  student,  but  all  of 
which  must  be  paid.  The  underlings  who  transact  the  busi- 
ness of  the  examination  receive  presents  to  the  amount  of  sev- 
eral dollars,  the  “ board-hangers  ” must  be  rewarded  with  a 
few  hundred  cash,  etc.,  etc. 

As  soon  as  the  candidate  is  known  to  have  “ entered,”  a 
strip  of  red  paper  is  prepared,  announcing  this  fact,  and  a 
messenger  is  posted  off  to  the  graduate’s  home.  For  this 
service,  a fee  of  several  thousand  cash  is  expected.  Large 
proclamations,  called  “Joyful  Announcements,”  are  prepared 
by  establishments  where  characters  are  cut  on  blocks,  and  sold 
to  successful  competitors,  at  the  rate  of  three  or  four  cents 
apiece.  A poor  scholar  may  not  be  able  to  afford  these  luxur- 


120 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


ies,  but  those  who  can  afford  it  buy  great  numbers  of  them, 
sending  them  in  every  direction  to  friends  and  relatives,  who 
take  care  to  have  them  properly  posted.  On  receipt  of  these 
notifications,  it  is  customary  for  the  friends  of  the  fortunate 
family  to  pay  a visit  of  congratulation,  at  which  they  must  be 
handsomely  entertained  at  a feast.  Each  one  brings  with  him 
a present  in  money,  varying  according  to  his  circumstances, 
and  his  relations  to  the  family  of  the  graduate.  If  the  new- 
made  Bachelor  has  a wide  circle  of  relatives  and  friends,  espe- 
cially if  some  of  them  happen  to  be  occupying  official  positions, 
he  will  not  improbably  receive  enough  in  gifts  of  this  sort,  to 
reimburse  himself  for  the  costs  attending  his  examinations,  and 
in  exceptional  instances,  his  congratulatory  presents  may  greatly 
exceed  the  total  of  his  expenses. 

The  style  of  these  notices  is  the  same,  a blank  being  left  for 
the  name  and  rank  of  the  graduate  which  is  inserted  in  writ- 
ing. It  is  a very  common  practice  in  some  regions  to  an- 
nounce that  the  person  concerned,  “entered  as  first  on  the  list,” 
though  as  a matter  of  fact  he  may  have  been  one  of  the  last. 
This  is  considered  a very  easy  and  desirable  way  to  get  a name, 
though  no  one  is  deceived  by  the  fraud,  for  when  a dead  wall 
is  covered  by  scores  of  these  announcements,  each  recording 
the  entry  of  some  one  as  the  “first  name,”  it  is  obvious  that 
the  phrase  is  merely  employed  for  display. 

It  would  naturally  be  supposed  that  the  result  of  competition 
so  severe  and  so  protracted  as  that  for  the  degree  of  hsiu-ts‘ai, 
would  be  certified  in  the  most  careful  manner,  such  as  by  a di- 
ploma bearing  the  seal  of  the  Chancellor.  There  is,  however, 
nothing  of  the  kind.  The  essays  of  the  successful  candidates 
are  supposed  to  be  forwarded  to  the  Board  of  Rites  in  Peking, 
where  it  is  to  be  hoped  they  eventually  grow  mouldy  and  dis- 
appear, else  the  capital  might  be  buried  beneath  the  enormous 
mass.  But  the  individual  whose  talent  is  at  last  flourishing, 
has  of  that  fact  no  tangible  evidence  whatever.  When  it  be- 
comes desirable  to  investigate  the  claim  of  a hsiu-ts‘ai,  he  is 


CHINESE  HIGHER  EDUCATION 


121 


asked  in  what  year  he  graduated,  the  name  of  the  examiner, 
the  several  themes  propounded,  etc.  It  will  be  difficult  to 
manufacture  plausible  replies,  which  will  not  give  some  clew  to 
their  falsity.  In  one  case  of  this  sort  within  the  writer’s  knowl- 
edge, a man  who  had  been  examined,  but  who  did  not  pass,  on 
being  questioned  gave  the  name,  the  subjects,  etc.,  which  be- 
longed to  his  own  brother,  who  really  was  a graduate.  The 
man  himself,  as  afterward  appeared,  was  in  prison  at  the  very 
time  when  he  professed  to  have  graduated. 

This  absence  of  credentials  for  a degree  so  much  coveted, 
makes  it  easy  for  scholars  of  shrewdness,  and  real  ability,  to 
pass  themselves  off  in  districts  remote  from  their  own,  as  hav- 
ing attained  to  a rank  which  they  have  not  in  reality  reached. 

A graduate  is  allowed  to  wear  a plain  brass  button  on  his 
cap,  which  he  prefers  to  the  pewter  one  given  him  on  gradu- 
ating. In  case  of  violations  of  law,  the  Magistrate  of  the 
District  in  which  the  offender  lives,  may  have  his  button  taken 
away,  and  the  graduate  reduced  to  the  level  of  any  other  per- 
son. As  long,  however,  as  he  continues  to  be  a graduate,  he 
cannot  be  beaten  like  other  Chinese,  except  on  the  palm  of  the 
hand.  If  a Magistrate  were  to  violate  the  rights  of  any  grad- 
uate, the  act  would  raise  a tornado  about  his  head,  before 
which  he  would  be  glad  to  retreat,  for  the  whole  body  of 
graduates  would  rise  like  a swarm  of  hornets  to  resent  the 
insult. 

The  financial  exigencies  of  the  past  generation  or  two  have 
led  to  the  open  sale  of  literary  degrees,  a practice  resorted  to 
on  a great  scale  by  the  Chinese  Government,  whenever  there  is 
any  unusual  pressure  for  funds,  such  as  the  repair  of  the  disas- 
ters caused  by  the  change  in  the  Yellow  River.  It  is  often 
quite  possible  to  buy  the  degree  of  hsiu-ts‘ai,  for  about  $100, 
and  the  purchaser  is  provided  with  a certificate,  being  in  this 
respect  on  a better  footing  than  the  graduate.  But  subscrip- 
tion degrees  are  regarded  with  merited  contempt,  and  their  sale 
great  as  it  has  been,  does  not  appear  to  have  seriously  affected 


122 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


the  regular  examinations,  by  diminishing  the  number  of  con- 
testants. 

There  are  other  methods  than  purchase  of  a degree,  by  which 
the  candidate  for  literary  honours,  whose  means  admit  of  it, 
may  try  to  weight  the  wheel  of  fortune  in  his  favour.  There  are 
three  common  ways  of  providing  oneself  with  examination  es- 
says without  undergoing  the  labour  of  composing  them.  Of 
these  the  first  is  known  as  the  “ box  plan,”  ( hsiang-tzu ),  and  it 
is  not  so  much  cramming,  as  padding.  The  Four  Books  and 
Five  Classics  seem  at  first  sight  to  afford  an  almost  unbounded 
field  for  subjects  of  essays,  and  as  the  Chancellor  does  not  an- 
nounce his  themes  until  he  enters  the  hall,  it  is  hopeless  to  at- 
tempt to  ascertain  them  in  advance.  But  the  shrewd  Celestial 
has  an  empirical,  if  not  a scientific  acquaintance  with  the  doc- 
trine of  chances  and  of  averages.  He  knows  that  in  the  course 
of  years,  the  same  themes  recur,  and  that  essays  which  were 
composed  long  before  he  was  born  are  just  as  good  in  the  pres- 
ent year  as  they  ever  were.  The  “ padding  ” method  consists 
in  lining  one’s  clothing  with  an  immense  number  of  essays, 
the  characters  of  which  are  of  that  minute  kind  known  as  “fly- 
eye,”  scarcely  legible  without  a magnifying  glass.  Upon  this 
scale,  it  is  easy  to  reduce  an  essay  with  300  characters  to  a 
compass  of  extreme  insignificance,  and  a moderately  “padded” 
scholar  might  be  provided  with  8,000  or  10,000  such  essays. 
Sometimes  they  are  concealed  in  the  baskets  in  which  the  stu- 
dents bring  their  provisions  to  the  hall.  By  dint  of  a complete 
index,  the  student  who  is  padded,  can  readily  ascertain  whether 
he  is  provided  with  an  essay  upon  the  passage  desired,  and 
though  the  withdrawal  of  an  essay  from  a pack  might  seem  a 
more  difficult  feat,  it  is  easily  done  by  the  judicious  expendi- 
ture of  a fee  to  the  guards  both  at  the  door  and  within  the  hall. 
A variation  of  the  padding  method  is  to  have  essays  written  all 
over  the  lining  of  the  inner  jackets,  which  are  made  of  white 
silk  for  this  purpose. 

A second  and  very  common  way  of  obtaining  essays  without 


CHINESE  HIGHER  EDUCATION 


123 


writing  them,  is  by  purchase.  In  furtherance  of  this  plan, 
there  is  a special  system  of  machinery,  which  (with  appropri- 
ate financial  lubrication)  may  be  easily  set  in  motion. 

The  purchase  of  an  essay  is  one  of  those  acts  which  in  China 
can  by  no  possibility  be  concealed.  “ There  is  no  hedge  that 
excludes  the  wind,”  and  the  close  proximity  of  so  many  wit- 
nesses would,  in  any  case,  render  the  transaction  in  a manner  a 
public  one.  Why  then  do  not  those  scholars  who  are  honestly 
toiling  for  a degree,  agree  to  expose  the  frauds  by  which  every 
one  of  them  is  so  seriously  wronged  ? It  is  not,  indeed,  an 
unknown  circumstance  for  a scholar  to  cry  out,  so  as  to  attract 
the  attention  of  the  examiners,  when  he  witnesses  the  transfer 
of  essays,  but  it  is  not  apparently  a common  act.  The  custom 
of  selling  essays,  like  other  abuses  in  China,  is  too  universal 
and  too  ancient  to  be  broken  up,  without  the  steady  coopera- 
tion of  many  forces,  for  which  it  is  hopeless  to  look.  The 
Chinese  dread  to  give  offence  by  any  such  burst  of  indignation 
as  would  be,  for  an  Occidental,  irrepressible.  And  so  things 
go  on  in  the  old  way.  As  to  the  morality  of  the  affair,  if  the 
consideration  of  it  ever  occurs  to  any  one,  it  is  hard  to  make 
that  appear  culpable  in  a poor  scholar,  which  is  legitimate  for 
the  emperor. 

The  proportion  of  students  who  obtain  their  degrees  unfairly 
must  be  large,  but  there  is  no  means  of  ascertaining  the  facts, 
even  approximately.  No  two  examinations  are  alike,  and  in  all 
of  them  much  depends  upon  the  temper  and  vigilance  of  the 
presiding  officer.  In  one  district  in  which  the  writer  lived, 
there  was  an  examination  in  which  so  many  persons  obtained 
their  degrees  by  fraud,  that  even  the  patience  of  the  most  pa- 
tient of  peoples  was  exhausted.  Some  defeated  candidate 
wrote  a complaint  of  the  wrong,  and  tossed  it  into  the  exami- 
nation hall  where  it  was  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  Chancel- 
lor, who  had  all  the  successful  candidates  examined  on  their  es- 
says, an  examination  which  eleven  out  of  fifteen  were  unable  to 
pass,  having  bought  their  essays,  and  the  result  was  their  sum- 


124 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


mary  disgrace.  Since  this  occurrence,  much  greater  care  has 
been  exercised  at  this  particular  examination  than  was  formerly 
the  rule.  In  another  district  a candidate  known  to  the  writer 
succeeded  in  passing  the  first  of  the  two  examinations  before 
the  Chancellor,  but  the  second  was  too  much  for  him.  His 
essay  and  poem  were  adjudged  bad,  and  he  was  beaten  a hun- 
dred blows  on  the  hand.  It  was  then  the  custom  to  publish  the 
names  of  those  who  passed  the  best  examination  on  the  first 
trial  before  the  Chancellor,  as  already  having  attained  a de- 
gree. This  notice  had  already  been  sent  to  the  home  of  the 
candidate,  who  now  had  the  exquisite  mortification  of  having 
his  name  erased,  when  the  prize  was  already  within  his  grasp. 
The  subordinates  in  the  yamen  of  the  Chancellor  kneeled  to  his 
Excellency,  and  implored  him  to  overlook  the  amazing  stupid- 
ity of  this  candidate,  which  the  great  man  was  kind  enough  to 
do,  and  thus  a degree  was  wrested  even  from  fate  itself. 

At  all  varieties  of  examinations,  there  are  present  many  per- 
sons who  act  as  essay  brokers  and  as  middle-men  between  those 
who  have  essays  to  sell,  and  those  who  wish  to  buy.  It  is  sup- 
posed that  both  the  seller  of  the  essay  and  the  purchaser  will 
be  among  those  examined,  but  the  practical  difficulty  arises 
from  the  uncertainty  whether  their  respective  seats  in  the  hall, 
which  cannot  be  known  in  advance,  will  be  within  reach  of  each 
other.  As  any  two  persons  are  very  liable  to  be  so  far  apart 
that  communication  will  be  impossible,  it  is  usual  for  the  essay 
broker  to  introduce  a number  of  essay  vendors  to  each  intend- 
ing purchaser,  so  that  the  chances  of  effecting  a transfer  be- 
tween any  two  of  them  may  be  increased.  To  bind  the  bar- 
gain, before  the  essay  is  composed,  a brief  but  explicit  contract 
is  signed  by  the  purchaser  in  the  hall.  The  terms  are  arranged 
on  a sliding  scale,  called  “first  two  and  after  two,”  “ first  five 
and  after  five,”  etc.  This  signifies  that  it  is  agreed  that  the 
person  who  furnishes  the  essay  shall  receive  in  any  event  a first 
payment  of  20,000  cash,  or  50,000  cash,  as  the  case  may  be, 
and  should  the  purchaser  win  a degree,  there  is  to  be  an  after 


CHINESE  HIGHER  EDUCATION 


125 


payment  of  200,000  cash,  or  500,000  cash,  according  to  the 
terms.  These  payments  are  enforced  by  the  brokers,  who  must 
be  well  acquainted  with  the  financial  circumstances  of  the  sev- 
eral parties.  These  obligations,  like  gambling  debts,  cannot 
of  course  be  legally  prosecuted,  but  the  Chinese  have  in  all 
such  cases  simple  ways  of  enforcing  payment,  such  as  raising 
a disturbance  in  an  annoying  and  public  way. 

The  reputation  of  having  bought  an  examination  essay  is  not 
one  which  any  candidate  wishes  to  have  made  public  authentic- 
ally, however  notorious  the  fact  may  be,  but  the  reputation  of 
having  bought  an  essay  and  of  having  declined  payment,  would 
be  intolerable.  Some  essay  vendors  frequent  examinations  for 
a long  series  of  years,  with  no  view  to  obtaining  a degree  for 
themselves,  but  in  order  to  reap  more  substantial  benefits  from 
their  scholarship  than  a degree  is  likely  to  confer.  If  they  have 
once  taken  a degree  themselves,  they  can  only  carry  on  this 
trade  by  assuming  the  name  of  some  candidate,  to  whom  a fee 
must  be  paid  for  the  privilege  of  personating  him.  Graduates 
of  the  rank  of  Selected  Men  also  carry  on  this  business,  some- 
times in  a double  way,  taking  a degree  for  the  person  whom 
they  personate,  and  also  having  leisure  to  write  essays  for  sale, 
after  their  own  are  finished,  thus  killing  two  birds  with  one 
stone.  In  either  case,  it  is  necessary  to  bribe  the  ling-sheng 
who  is  the  guarantee  of  the  identity  of  the  undergraduate. 

The  third  method  of  obtaining  the  essays  of  other  persons,  is 
called  “transmission”  (ch'uan  ti).  This  can  only  be  ac- 
complished by  the  cooperation  of  the  inspectors  (hsiin  ch'ang) 
who,  like  all  other  mortals,  are  supposed  to  be  perfectly  open  to 
considerations  of  temporal  advantage,  if  only  arguments  of 
sufficient  strength  are  employed.  As  soon  as  the  Chancellor’s 
theme  is  announced,  it  is  copied,  and  at  a preconcerted  signal 
thrown  over  the  wall  of  the  examination  premises  to  persons 
waiting  for  it.  Several  scholars  outside  may  have  been  previ- 
ously engaged  to  write  essays  for  different  persons  within  the 
hall.  When  the  essays  are  finished  they  are  carefully  done  up, 


126 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


and  at  a signal,  such  as  a call  for  a dog  or  for  a cat,  are  thrown 
over  the  wall  to  the  watchman,  who  has  been  previously  paid 
to  receive  them.  The  inspector,  also  liberally  fed,  ascertains 
from  a private  mark  on  each  essay,  for  whom  it  is  intended, 
and  while  pacing  back  and  forth  through  the  hall,  contrives  to 
deliver  them,  without  being  seen  by  the  Chancellor.  In  one 
case,  six  persons  were  known  to  have  received  their  degrees, 
on  the  merits  of  essays  which  were  brought  into  the  hall  after 
being  thrown  over  the  wall  in  a single  bundle.  Sometimes 
essays  are  concealed  in  the  body  of  a harmless-looking  bread- 
cake,  which  is  tossed  carelessly  from  one  candidate  to  another 
when  the  lunches  are  eaten,  with  the  connivance,  no  doubt,  of 
the  inspectors.  The  District  Magistrates  sometimes  post  the 
Secretaries  at  the  corners  of  the  examination  hall,  where  it  is 
easy  to  see  all  that  goes  on.  But  much  more  often,  it  is  prob- 
able, that  the  Magistrate  takes  little  interest  in  such  details. 

In  some  examinations,  the  Chancellors  are  very  strict,  and 
forbid  any  of  the  watchmen  to  enter  the  hall  at  all,  which,  of 
course,  checkmates  the  plan  last  described.  Such  instances  are 
much  more  than  offset  by  others,  in  which  the  Chancellor  does 
not  remain  through  the  examination  himself,  but  entrusts  the 
conduct  of  affairs  to  his  Secretaries.  These  functionaries  are 
then  at  liberty  to  furnish  essays  to  candidates  who  can  afford  to 
pay  the  heavy  price  necessary.  In  such  cases,  while  ostensibly 
examining  the  essays,  the  Secretaries  find  it  easy  to  throw  one 
of  their  own  under  a stool,  or  in  some  place  from  which  it  may 
be  readily  captured  by  the  purchaser. 

In  a case  reported  in  the  Peking  Gazette  some  years  since,  a 
bold  vendor  of  essays  succeeded  in  getting  his  paper  conveyed 
to  the  individual  for  whom  it  was  intended,  by  hooking  it  on 
the  garments  of  the  venerable  Chancellor  himself,  who  thus  un- 
consciously became  the  bearer  of  the  very  documents  which  he 
was  endeavouring  to  suppress ! The  candidates  at  the  Chan- 
cellor’s examination  are  generally  seated  in  such  proximity,  that 
including  those  on  each  side,  most  of  the  students  are  within 


CHINESE  HIGHER  EDUCATION 


127 


easy  reach  of  ten  or  fifteen  other  persons.  This  renders  the 
transfer  of  papers  an  easy  matter.  In  the  second  of  these 
trials,  when  the  number  is  reduced  to  a mere  handful,  the  stu- 
dents are  often  seated  just  as  compactly  as  before. 

A scholar  with  whom  the  writer  is  acquainted,  once  found 
himself  near  a poor  fellow,  who  was  utterly  at  a loss  how  to 
treat  the  theme  from  Mencius,  “Like  climbing  a tree  to  catch 
a fish.”  A verbal  arrangement  was  hastily  made  for  the  pur- 
chase of  an  essay,  but  the  usual  written  agreement  was  omitted. 
The  essay  was  indited  in  the  lawless  style  of  chirography  known 
as  the  “grass  character,”  and  handed  to  the  purchaser  to  be 
copied.  Here  an  untoward  accident  occurred,  for  the  man 
who  bought  the  essay  mistook  two  characters,  when  he  copied 
out  the  paper,  for  two  others  which  they  much  resembled,  thus 
ruining  the  chances  of  success.  The  poor  scholar  begged  off 
from  the  amount  which  he  had  agreed  to  pay,  (which  was 
about  ten  dollars)  on  the  plea  of  poverty.  The  angry  essay- 
seller  then  raised  a kind  of  mob  of  students,  went  to  the  lodg- 
ings of  his  debtor  and  made  an  uproar,  the  result  of  which  was 
to  extract  from  the  latter  about  a dollar  and  a half,  which  was 
all  that  could  be  got  ! The  preceptor  of  the  man  who  sold  the 
essay,  who  was  himself  one  of  the  candidates  at  this  examina- 
tion, claimed,  with  many  others,  that  the  essay  which  was  sold, 
as  represented  by  the  author,  must  certainly  have  resulted  in  a 
degree  for  the  poor  scholar  if  he  had  not  blundered  in  inditing 
false  characters. 

Should  an  examiner  overlook  a wrong  character,  and  the 
fact  be  afterward  made  public,  he  might  be  degraded  for  his 
carelessness.  A case  of  this  sort  was  reported  a few  years  ago 
in  the  Peking  Gazette.  At  the  triennial  examination  for  the 
Han-lin,  in  the  year  1871,  after  the  essays  had  been  submitted 
to  the  Han-lin  examiners,  the  nine  most  meritorious  ones  were 
selected,  and  were  sent  in  to  the  Empress  Dowager — the  Em- 
peror being  under  age — to  have  the  award  formally  confirmed. 
The  work  of  greatest  merit  was  placed  uppermost,  but  the  old 


128 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


lady,  who  had  an  imperial  will  of  her  own,  was  anxious  to 
thwart  the  decision  of  the  learned  pundits ; and,  as  chance 
would  have  it,  the  sunlight  fell  upon  the  chosen  manuscript, 
and  she  discovered  a flaw,  a thinness  in  the  paper,  indicating  a 
place  in  the  composition  where  one  character  had  been  erased 
and  another  substituted.  The  Empress  rated  the  examiners 
for  allowing  such  “ slovenly  work  ” to  pass,  and  proclaimed 
another  man,  whose  name  was  Hsiang,  as  victor.  This  indi- 
vidual hailed  from  the  province  of  Kuang-tung — a province 
which  had  produced  a Senior  Wrangler  but  once  in  250  years. 
On  his  return  to  his  native  province  the  successful  scholar  was 
received  by  the  local  authorities  with  the  highest  possible 
honours.  All  the  families  owning  his  surname  who  could 
afford  to  do  so  paid  enormous  sums  to  be  permitted  to  come 
and  worship  at  his  ancestral  hall,  for  by  this  means  they  estab- 
lished a pseudo  claim  to  relationship,  and  were  allowed  to  place 
tablets  over  the  entrances  of  their  own  halls  inscribed  with  the 
title  Chuang  Yiian,  or  Senior  Wrangler.  The  superstitious 
Cantonese  believed  that  the  sunbeam  which  revealed  the  fatal 
flaw  was  a messenger  sent  from  heaven  ! 

The  fact  that  a man  has  taken  the  degree  of  hsiu-ts‘ai,  does 
not  release  him  from  the  necessity  of  studying.  On  the  con- 
trary, this  is  called  “entering  school,”  and  the  graduate  is  re- 
quired to  present  himself  at  each  triennial  examination,  to  com- 
pete for  the  next  step  in  the  scale  of  honours,  that  of  ling- 
sheng  hsiu-ts'ai.  The  number  of  graduates  who  can  attain 
the  rank  of  ling-sheng  in  any  one  year  is  limited.  In  a district 
which  graduates  seventeen  hsiu-ts‘ai,  there  may  be  but  one  or 
two  ling-sheng  graduates  passed  at  a time.  There  are,  how- 
ever, extra  examinations,  as  already  explained,  in  case  of  the 
accession  of  an  Emperor,  etc.,  and  when  a vacancy  in  the  fixed 
number  takes  place  through  death,  an  additional  candidate  is 
allowed  to  pass  to  fill  the  place.  A hsiu-ts‘ai  is  not  allowed  to 
decline  the  examination  merely  on  account  of  the  improbability 
of  his  passing  it ; on  the  contrary,  every  graduate  is  required 


CHINESE  HIGHER  EDUCATION 


129 


to  compete  as  often  as  examinations  occur.  This  is  the 
theory,  but  as  a matter  of  fact,  the  payment  of  about  a dollar 
and  a half  to  the  underlings  of  the  Superintendent  of  Instruc- 
tion for  the  District  will  enable  the  candidate  to  have  an  entry 
opposite  his  name,  signifying  that  he  is  “ incapacitated  by  ill- 
ness,” or  is  “not  at  home.”  But  after  the  graduate  has  been 
examined  ten  times,  and  has  persistently  failed  to  show  any 
capacity  for  further  advance,  he  is  excused  from  examination 
thereafter,  and  his  name  is  dropped.  At  these  examinations  the 
candidates  are  divided  into  four  classes  according  to  the  re- 
spective merits  of  their  essays.  If  any  candidate  fails  to  get 
into  the  first  three  classes,  he  is  regarded  as  having  forfeited  his 
title  to  the  grade  of  hsiu-ts‘ai,  and  he  loses  his  rank  as  such, 
unless  the  Chancellor  can  be  prevailed  upon  to  excuse  his 
“rotten  scholarship,”  and  give  the  unfortunate  student  another 
trial.  Hence  the  proverb,  “The  hsiu-ts'ai  dreads  the  fourth 
class.”  The  ling-shSng  is  entitled  to  a small  allowance  of 
about  $10  a year,  from  the  Government,  to  assist  him  in  the 
prosecution  of  his  studies,  though  the  amount  can  hardly  be  re- 
garded as  proportioned  to  the  difficulty  of  attaining  the  rank 
which  alone  is  entitled  to  receive  this  meagre  help. 

The  ling-sheng  graduates  are  required  to  compete  at  the 
triennial  examinations,  for  the  next  step,  which  is  that  of  kung- 
sheng.  Only  one  candidate  can  enter  this  rank  at  one  examin- 
ation unless  there  should  be  a special  vacancy. 

There  are  five  varieties  of  kung-sheng,  according  to  the  time 
at  which  and  the  conditions  under  which  they  have  graduated. 
These  scholars  do  not,  like  the  ling-sheng,  act  as  bondsmen  for 
undergraduates,  nor  do  they  like  them,  have  an  allowance. 
They  are  permitted  to  wear  a semi-official  robe,  and  are  ad- 
dressed by  a title  of  respect,  but  in  a pecuniary  point  of  view 
their  honours  are  empty  ones,  unless  they  secure  the  place  of 
Superintendent  of  Instruction,  which  must,  however,  be  in 
some  district  other  than  their  own.  The  kung-sheng  and  the 
hsiu-ts‘ai  are  at  opposite  ends  of  one  division  of  the  long  edu- 


>3° 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


cational  road.  The  former  is  regarded  as  a schoolboy,  and 
the  latter  is  for  the  first  time  a man,  and  need  be  examined  no 
more,  unless  he  chooses  to  compete  for  the  rank  of  Selected 
Man,  (chii-jen)  an  examination  which  has  intricacies  and  perils 
of  its  own.  “The  hsiu-ts‘ai,”  says  the  proverb,  “must  have 
talent,  but  the  chii-jen  must  have  fate,”  that  is,  no  amount  of 
talent,  by  itself,  will  suffice  to  win  this  higher  rank,  unless  the 
fates  are  on  one’s  side,  a proposition  which  we  are  prepared  to 
believe,  from  what  has  already  been  seen  of  the  lower  grades 
of  scholarship. 

At  any  part  of  the  long  process  which  we  have  described,  it 
is  possible  to  become  a candidate  for  honours  above,  by  pur- 
chasing those  below.  A man  of  real  talent,  studiously  inclined, 
might  for  example  buy  the  rank  of  ling-sheng,  and  then  with  a 
preceptor  of  his  own,  and  great  diligence,  become  a kung- 
sheng,  a chii-jen,  and  perhaps  at  last  an  official,  skipping  all  the 
tedious  lower  steps.  The  taint  of  having  climbed  over  the 
wall,  instead  of  entering  by  the  straight  and  narrow  way, 
would  doubtless  cling  to  him  forever,  but  this  circumstance 
would  probably  not  interfere  with  his  equanimity,  so  long  as  it 
did  not  diminish  his  profits.  As  a matter  of  experience,  how- 
ever, it  is  probable  that  it  would  be  more  worth  while  to  buy  an 
office  outright,  rather  than  to  enter  the  field,  by  the  circuitous 
route  of  a combination  of  purchase  and  examinations. 

Whether  to  be  examined  or  not  is  not  always  optional  in 
China.  A father  was  determined  that  his  son  should  study  for 
a degree,  which  the  son  was  very  unwilling  to  do,  yielding  how- 
ever to  compulsion.  He  was  so  successful  that  at  the  age  of 
nineteen  he  became  a Bachelor,  only  to  find  that  his  father’s 
ambition  was  far  from  satisfied,  and  that  he  now  required  him 
to  go  on  and  work  for  the  next  degree  of  Selected  Man.  Per- 
ceiving that  there  was  no  hope  of  escaping  this  discouraging 
task,  the  youth  hung  himself,  and  was  examined  no  more ! 

The  office  of  Superintendent  of  Instruction,  is  considered  a 
very  desirable  one,  since  the  duties  are  light,  and  the  income 


CHINESE  HIGHER  EDUCATION  13 1 

considerable.  This  income  arises  partly  from  a large  tract  of 
land  set  apart  for  the  support  of  the  two  Superintendents, 
partly  from  “presents”  of  grain  exacted  twice  a year  after  the 
manner  of  Buddhist  priests,  and  partly  from  fees  which  every 
graduate  is  required  to  pay,  varying  as  all  such  Chinese  pay- 
ments do,  according  to  the  circumstances  of  the  individual. 
The  Superintendent  is  careful  to  inquire  privately  into  the 
means  at  the  disposal  of  each  graduate,  and  fixes  his  tax  ac- 
cordingly. From  his  decision  there  is  no  appeal.  If  the  pay- 
ment is  resisted  as  excessive,  the  Superintendent,  who  is  theo- 
retically his  preceptor,  will  have  the  hsiu-ts‘ai  beaten  on  the 
hands,  and  probably  double  the  amount  of  the  assessment.  If 
any  of  the  graduates  in  a district  are  accused  of  a crime,  they 
are  reported  to  the  District  Magistrate,  who  turns  them  over  to 
the  Superintendent  of  Instruction,  for  an  inquiry.  The  Super- 
intendent and  the  Magistrate  together,  could  secure  the  dis- 
grace of  a graduate,  as  already  explained. 

The  Government  desires  to  encourage  learning  as  much  as 
possible,  and  to  this  end  there  are  in  many  cities,  what  may  be 
termed  Government  high-schools  or  colleges,  where  preceptors 
of  special  ability  are  appointed  to  explain  the  Classics,  and  to 
hold  frequent  examinations,  similar  to  those  in  the  regular 
course,  as  described.  The  funds  for  the  support  of  such  insti- 
tutions, are  sometimes  derived  from  the  voluntary  subscriptions 
of  wealthy  persons,  who  have  been  rewarded  by  the  gift  of  an 
honourary  title,  or  perhaps  from  a tax  on  a cattle  fair,  etc. 
Where  the  arrangement  is  carried  out  in  good  faith,  it  has 
worked  well,  but  in  two  districts  known  to  the  writer,  the  whole 
plan  has  been  brought  into  discredit  of  late  years,  on  account 
of  the  promotion  to  office  of  District  Magistrates  who  have 
bought  their  way  upward,  and  who  have  no  learning  of  their 
own.  In  such  cases,  the  management  of  the  examination  is 
probably  left  to  a Secretary,  who  disposes  of  it  as  quickly  and 
with  as  little  trouble  to  himself  as  possible.  The  themes  for 
the  essays  are  given  out,  and  prizes  promised  for  the  best,  but 


132 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


instead  of  remaining  to  superintend  the  competition,  the  Secre- 
tary goes  about  his  business,  leaving  the  scholars  who  wish  to 
compete  to  go  to  their  homes,  and  write  their  essays  there,  or 
to  have  others  do  it  for  them,  as  they  prefer.  In  some  in- 
stances, the  same  man  registers  under  a variety  of  names,  and 
writes  competitive  essays  for  them  all,  or  he  perhaps  writes  his 
essays  and  sells  them  to  others,  and  when  they  are  handed  in, 
no  questions  are  asked.  It  would  be  easy  to  stop  abuses  of  this 
sort,  if  it  were  the  concern  or  the  interest  of  any  one  to  do  so, 
but  it  is  not,  and  so  they  continue.  A school-teacher  with 
whom  the  writer  is  acquainted,  happening  to  have  a school  near 
the  district  city,  made  it  a constant  practice  for  many  years,  to 
attend  examinations  of  this  sort.  He  was  examined  about  a 
hundred  times,  and  on  four  occasions  received  a prize,  once  a 
sum  in  money  equivalent  to  about  seventy-five  cents,  and  three 
other  times  a sum  equal  to  about  half-a-dollar  ! 

It  is  a constant  wonder  to  Occidentals,  by  what  motives  the 
Chinese  are  impelled,  in  their  irrepressible  thirst  for  literary 
degrees,  even  under  all  the  drawbacks  and  disadvantages,  some 
of  which  have  been  described.  These  motives,  like  all  others 
in  human  experience  are  mixed,  but  at  the  base  of  them  all,  is 
a desire  for  fame  and  for  power.  In  China  the  power  is  in  the 
hands  of  the  learned  and  of  the  rich.  Wealth  is  harder  to  ac- 
quire than  learning,  and  incomparably  more  difficult  to  keep. 
The  immemorial  traditions  of  the  empire  are  all  in  favour  of 
the  man  who  is  willing  to  submit  to  the  toils  that  he  may  win 
the  rewards  of  the  scholar. 

Every  village  as  already  explained,  has  its  headmen.  Among 
them  the  literary  graduate,  provided  he  is  also  a practical  man, 
will  inevitably  take  the  lead.  He  will  often  come  into  relations 
with  the  District  Magistrate,  which  makes  him  a marked  man 
among  his  fellows.  He  will  be  constantly  called  upon  to  assist 
in  the  settlement  of  disputes,  and  every  such  occasion  will 
afford  opportunities  for  the  privilege,  so  dear  to  the  Chinese,  of 
enjoying  a feast  at  the  expense  of  his  neighbours,  besides  put- 


CHINESE  HIGHER  EDUCATION 


133 


ting  them  under  an  obligation  to  him  for  his  trouble.  At  the 
weddings  and  funerals  within  the  large  circle  of  his  acquaint- 
ance he  will  be  a frequent  guest,  and  always  in  the  place  of 
honour  due  to  his  literary  degree.  This  is  especially  the  case  in 
funeral  ceremonies  of  those  who  are  buried  with  the  most  elab- 
orate ritual.  On  these  occasions  the  ancestral  tablet  of  the 
deceased  is  to  be  written,  and  as  an  important  part  of  the  ex- 
ercises a red  dot  over  one  character  signifying  King  is  to  be 
placed,  thus  changing  it  into  the  symbol  denoting  Lord.  It  is 
not  uncommon  to  have  the  performances  connected  with  such 
funerals  extended  over  several  days,  each  furnishing  three  ex- 
cellent feasts,  as  well  as  abundant  supplies  of  opium  for  those 
who  wish  to  smoke.  In  a country  like  China  the  participation 
in  revels  such  as  these  approach  more  nearly  to  paradisaic  bliss 
than  anything  of  which  the  Chinese  mind  can  conceive. 
Every  scholar  is  desirous  of  getting  into  such  relations  with  his 
environment  that  honours  of  this  sort  come  to  him  as  a matter  of 
course.  If  he  happens  to  be  very  poor,  they  furnish  a not  un- 
important part  of  his  support,  as  well  as  of  his  happiness. 

The  village  graduate  who  knows  how  to  help  in  lawsuits  by 
preparing  complaints,  and  by  assisting  in  the  intricate  proceed- 
ings ensuing  at  each  stage  is  often  able  by  means  of  the  prestige 
thus  gained,  to  get  his  living  at  the  expense  of  others  more 
ignorant.  No  country  offers  a better  field  for  such  an  enter- 
prise than  China.  Unbounded  respect  for  learning  coexists 
with  unbounded  ignorance,  and  the  experienced  literary  man 
knows  how  to  turn  each  of  these  elements  to  the  very  best  ac- 
count. In  all  lands  and  in  all  ages,  the  man  who  is  possessed 
with  what  is  vulgarly  termed  the  “gift  of  the  gab,”  is  able  to 
make  his  own  way,  and  in  China  he  carries  everything  before 
him. 

The  range  of  territory  which  any  aspirant  for  literary  honours 
in  China  must  expect  to  traverse,  is,  as  we  have  seen,  conti- 
nental. In  order  to  have  any  hope  of  success,  he  must  be  ac- 
quainted with  every  square  inch  of  it,  and  must  be  prepared  to 


>34 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


sink  an  artesian  well  from  any  given  point  to  any  given  depth. 
To  the  uneducated  peasant,  whose  whole  being  is  impregnated 
with  a blind  respect  for  learning,  amounting  at  times  to  a kind 
of  idolatry,  such  knowledge  as  this  seems  an  almost  supernat- 
ural acquirement,  and  inspires  all  the  reverence  of  which  he  is 
capable.  The  thought  of  the  estimate  in  which  they  will  be 
held  for  the  whole  term  of  their  lives,  is  thus  a powerful  stim- 
ulus to  scholars  of  ambition,  even  under  the  greatest  discour- 
agements. 

There  could  scarcely  be  a better  exemplification  of  what  the 
Chinese  saying  calls  “ superiority  to  those  below,  and  inferiority 
to  those  above,”  than  the  position  of  the  hsiu-ts‘ai.  While  he 
is  looked  upon  by  the  vulgar  herd  in  the  light  we  have  de- 
scribed, by  the  educated  classes  above  him  he  is  regarded,  as 
we  have  so  often  termed  him,  as  a schoolboy  who  is  not  yet 
even  in  school.  The  popular  dictum  avers  that  though  the 
whole  body  of  hsiu-ts‘ai  should  attempt  to  start  a rebellion,  and 
should  be  left  undisturbed  in  the  effort  for  three  years,  the  re- 
sult would  be  failure,  albeit  this  proverb  finds  no  support  in  the 
history  of  the  great  rebellion,  which  originated  with  a discon- 
tented undergraduate  who  was  exasperated  at  his  repeated  fail- 
ures to  get  his  talent  recognized.  Literary  examinations,  as  we 
have  abundantly  seen,  are  like  the  game  of  backgammon,  an 
equal  mixture  of  skill  and  luck,  but  the  young  graduate  easily 
comes  to  regard  the  luck  as  due  to  the  skill,  and  thus  becomes 
filled  to  the  full  of  that  intellectual  pride  which  is  one  of  the 
greatest  barriers  to  the  national  progress  of  China. 

Differing  by  millenniums  from  the  system  just  described  is  that 
recently  decreed  after  successful  agitation  by  a few  reformers. 
During  the  summer  of  1898  His  Majesty  Kuang  Hsii,  Emperor 
of  China,  issued  several  Edicts  which  abolished  the  “eight- 
legged examination  essay”  as  an  avenue  to  the  attainment  of 
literary  degrees,  and  introduced  in  their  place  what  was  termed 
Practical  Chinese  Literature,  and  Western  Learning,  which  were 
to  be  combined  in  Provincial  and  County  Academies.  Exist- 


CHINESE  HIGHER  EDUCATION 


*35 


ing  institutions  were  to  be  remodelled  after  a more  or  less  defi- 
nite pattern  set  in  Peking.  All  except  official  temples  (that  is, 
those  where  offerings  or  services  were  required  from  the  Magis- 
trates) were  to  be  surrendered  as  seats  of  the  New  Learning. 
Reports  were  demanded  from  Provincial  Governors  as  to  the 
present  status  of  these  temples,  and  the  future  prospects  for  in- 
come from  them. 

These  Edicts  potentially  revolutionized  the  intellectual  life  of 
China.  They  were  received  very  differently  in  different  parts 
of  the  empire,  but  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  they  would 
have  been  widely  welcomed  by  an  influential  minority  of  the 
literati  of  China,  who  had  in  various  ways  come  to  realize  the 
futility  of  the  present  instruction  for  the  needs  of  to-day.  The 
immediate  effect  was  to  bring  Western  Learning  into  universal 
demand.  Scholars  who  had  never  deigned  to  recognize  the  ex- 
istence of  foreigners,  were  now  glad  to  become  their  pupils  and 
purchasers  of  their  text-books  on  a large  scale.  For  a few 
weeks  examination  themes  were  strongly  tinctured  with  Western 
topics,  and  those  who  were  able  to  show  any  familiarity  with 
those  branches  of  learning  were  almost  sure  of  a degree.  Cor- 
rect answers  to  simple  mathematical,  geographical,  or  astro- 
nomical questions  are  said  to  have  rendered  success  certain, 
and  it  is  even  alleged  that  a candidate  in  one  place  took  his 
honours  by  writing  out  and  commenting  upon  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments, which  he  represented  as  The  Western  Code  of 
Laws. 

Toward  the  close  of  September,  1898,  the  Empress  Dow- 
ager seized  the  reins,  suppressed  her  nephew,  and  nearly  all  re- 
forms, educational  and  political,  were  extinguished.  A new 
Imperial  University  in  Peking  survived  the  storm,  but  almost 
all  of  the  extended  and  beneficent  program  of  His  Majesty  was 
relegated  to  the  Greek  Kalends.  It  is  only  a question  of  time 
when  the  pendulum  shall  swing  back,  but  every  well-wisher  of 
China  hopes  that  it  may  not  be  delayed  until  the  national  ex- 
istence of  the  Chinese  shall  have  been  lost. 


XI 


VILLAGE  TEMPLES  AND  RELIGIOUS  SOCIETIES 

^T'HE  process  by  which  the  inconceivably  great  numbers  of 
Chinese  temples  came  to  be  is  not  without  an  interest  of 
its  own.  When  a few  individuals  wish  to  build  a temple,  they 
call  the  headmen  of  the  village,  in  whose  charge  by  long  cus- 
tom are  all  the  public  matters  of  the  town,  and  the  enterprise  is 
put  in  their  care.  It  is  usual  to  make  an  assessment  on  the 
land  for  funds ; this  is  not  necessarily  a fixed  sum  for  each 
acre,  but  is  more  likely  to  be  graded  according  to  the  amount 
of  land  each  owns,  the  poor  being  perhaps  altogether  exempt, 
or  very  lightly  taxed,  and  the  rich  paying  much  more  heavily. 
When  the  money  is  all  collected  by  the  managers,  the  building 
begins  under  their  direction.  If  the  temple  is  to  be  a large 
one,  costing  several  hundred  tsels,  in  addition  to  this  preliminary 
tax,  a subscription  book  is  opened,  and  sent  to  all  the  neigh- 
bouring villages,  and  sometimes  to  all  within  a wide  radius,  the 
begging  being  often  done  by  some  priest  of  persuasive  powers, 
dragging  a chain,  or  having  his  cheeks  pierced  with  spikes,  or  in 
some  way  bearing  the  appearance  of  fulfilling  a vow.  The  only 
motive  to  these  outside  contributions  is  the  strong  impetus  to 
the  “practice  of  virtue,”  which  exists  among  the  Chinese,  and 
which  can  be  played  upon  to  almost  any  extent.  Lists  of  con- 
tributions are  kept  in  the  larger  temples,  and  the  donors  are 
expected  to  receive  the  worth  of  their  money,  through  seeing 
their  names  posted  in  a conspicuous  place,  as  subscribers  of  a 
certain  sum.  In  some  regions  it  is  customary  to  set  down  the 
amount  given  as  much  larger  than  it  really  is,  by  a fiction 
equally  agreeable  to  all  concerned.  Thus  the  donor  of  250 
cash  sees  his  name  paraded  as  the  subscriber  of  1,000  cash,  and 

136 


VILLAGE  TEMPLES  AND  RELIGIOUS  SOCIETIES  137 


so  throughout.  These  subscriptions  to  temples  are  in  reality  a 
loan  to  be  repaid  whenever  the  village  subscribing  finds  itself  in 
need  of  similar  help,  and  the  obligation  will  not  be  forgotten  by 
the  donors. 

It  is  seldom  safe  to  generalize  in  regard  to  anything  in  China, 
but  if  there  is  one  thing  in  regard  to  which  a generalization 
would  seem  to  be  more  safe  than  another,  it  would  be  the  uni- 
versality of  temples  in  every  village  throughout  the  empire. 
Yet  it  is  an  undoubted  fact  that  there  are,  even  in  China,  great 
numbers  of  villages  which  have  no  temple  at  all.  This  is  true 
of  all  those  which  are  inhabited  exclusively  by  Mohammedans, 
who  never  take  any  part  in  the  construction  of  such  edifices, 
a peculiarity  which  is  now  well  known  and  respected  though  at 
the  first  appearance  of  these  strangers,  it  caused  them  many 
bitter  struggles  to  establish  their  right  to  a monotheistic  faith. 

The  most  ordinary  explanation  of  a comparatively  rare  phe- 
nomenon of  a village  without  a temple,  is  that  the  hamlet  is  a 
small  one  and  cannot  afford  the  expense.  Sometimes  it  may 
have  been  due  to  the  fact  that  there  was  no  person  of  sufficient 
intelligence  in  the  village  to  take  the  initial  steps,  and  as  one 
generation  is  much  influenced  by  what  was  done  and  what  was 
not  done  in  the  generations  that  have  passed,  five  hundred 
years  may  elapse  without  the  building  of  a temple,  simply  be- 
cause a temple  was  not  built  five  hundred  years  ago.  In  the 
very  unusual  cases  where  a village  is  without  one,  it  is  not  be- 
cause they  have  no  use  for  the  gods  ; for  in  such  instances  the 
villagers  frequently  go  to  the  temples  of  the  next  village  and 
“borrow  their  light,”  just  as  a poor  peasant  who  cannot 
afford  to  keep  an  animal  to  do  his  plowing  may  get  the  loan  of 
a donkey  in  planting  time,  from  a neighbour  who  is  better  off. 

The  two  temples  which  are  most  likely  to  be  found,  though 
all  others  be  wanting,  are  those  of  the  local  god,  and  of  the  god 
of  war.  The  latter  has  been  made  much  of  by  the  present 
dynasty,  and  greatly  promoted  in  the  pantheon.  The  former  is 
regarded  as  a kind  of  constable  in  the  next  world,  and  he  is  to 


I3» 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


be  informed  promptly  on  the  death  of  an  adult,  that  he  may  re- 
port to  the  city  god  (“Ch'eng  Huang,”)  who  in  turn  reports 
to  Yen  Wang,  the  Chinese  Pluto. 

In  case  a village  has  no  temple  to  the  T‘u-ti,  or  local  god, 
news  of  the  death  is  conveyed  to  him  by  wailing  at  the  crossing 
of  two  streets,  where  he  is  supposed  to  be  in  ambush. 

Tens  of  thousands  of  villages  are  content  with  these  two  tem- 
ples, which  are  regarded  as  almost  indispensable.  If  the  village 
is  a large  one,  divided  into  several  sections  transacting  their  pub- 
lic business  independently  of  one  another,  there  may  be  several 
temples  to  the  same  divinity.  It  is  a common  saying,  illustrative 
of  Chinese  notions  on  this  topic,  that  the  local  god  at  one  end 
of  the  village  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  affairs  of  the  other  end 
of  the  village. 

When  the  temple  has  been  built,  if  the  managers  have  been 
prudent,  they  are  not  unlikely  to  have  collected  much  more 
than  they  will  use  in  the  building.  This  surplus  is  used  partly 
in  giving  a theatrical  exhibition,  to  which  all  donors  are  invited 
— which  is  the  only  public  way  in  which  their  virtue  can  be  ac- 
knowledged— but  mainly  in  the  purchase  of  land,  the  income 
of  which  shall  support  the  temple  priest.  In  this  way,  a temple 
once  built  is  in  a manner  endowed,  and  becomes  self-support- 
ing. The  managers  select  some  one  of  the  donors,  and  appoint 
him  a sort  of  president  of  the  board  of  trustees,  (called  a shan 
chu,  or  “master  of  virtue  ”),  and  he  is  the  person  with  whom 
the  managers  take  account  for  the  rent  and  use  of  the  land. 
Sometimes  a public  school  is  supported  from  the  income  of  the 
land,  and  sometimes  this  income  is  all  gambled  away  by  vicious 
priests,  who  have  devices  of  their  own  to  get  control  of  the 
property  to  the  exclusion  of  the  villagers.  When  temples  get 
out  of  repair,  which,  owing  to  their  defective  construction,  is 
constantly  the  case,  they  must  be  rebuilt  by  a process  similar  to 
that  by  which  they  were  originally  constructed  ; for  in  China 
there  are  as  truly  successive  crops  of  temples  as  of  turnips. 

There  is  no  limit  to  the  number  of  temples  which  a single 


VILLAGE  TEMPLES  AND  RELIGIOUS  SOCIETIES  139 


village  may  be  persuaded  into  building.  Some  villages  of  three 
hundred  families  have  one  to  every  ten  families,  but  this  must 
be  an  exceptional  ratio.  It  is  a common  saying  among  the 
Chinese  that  the  more  temples  a village  has,  the  poorer  it  is, 
and  also  the  worse  its  morals.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
writer  has  heard  of  one  village  which  has  none  at  all,  but  which 
has  acquired  the  nickname  of  “ Ma  Family  Thief  Village.”  It 
seems  reasonable  to  infer  from  the  observed  facts  that,  when 
they  have  fallen  into  comparative  desuetude,  temples  are  almost 
inert,  so  far  as  influence  goes.  But  when  filled  with  indolent 
and  vicious  priests,  as  is  too  often  the  case,  they  are  baneful  to 
the  morals  of  any  community.  In  the  rural  districts,  it  is  com- 
paratively rare  to  find  resident  priests,  for  the  reason  that  they 
cannot  live  from  the  scanty  revenue,  and  a year  of  famine  will 
starve  them  out  of  large  districts. 

Temples  that  are  a little  distance  from  a village  are  a favourite 
resort  of  thieves,  as  a convenient  place  to  divide  their  booty, 
and  also  are  resting-places  for  beggars.  To  prevent  this  mis- 
use, it  is  common  to  see  the  door  entirely  bricked  up,  or  per- 
haps a small  opening  may  be  left  for  the  divinity  to  breathe 
through  ! 

The  erection  of  a temple  is  but  the  beginning  of  an  inter- 
minable series  of  expenses ; for,  if  there  is  a priest,  he  must  be 
paid  for  each  separate  service  rendered,  and  will  besides  de- 
mand a tax  in  grain  of  every  villager  after  the  wheat  and  au- 
tumn harvests — exactions  which  often  become  burdensome  in 
the  extreme.  In  addition  to  this,  minor  repairs  keep  up  an  un- 
ceasing flow  of  money.  If  there  is  an  annual  chanting  of 
sacred  books  (called  ta  chiao),  this  is  also  a heavy  expense. 

Temples  which  are  not  much  used  are  convenient  receptacles 
for  coffins,  which  have  been  prepared  in  the  Chinese  style  be- 
fore they  are  needed,  and  also  for  the  images  of  animals,  made 
of  reeds  and  paper,  which  are  designed  to  be  burnt  at  funer- 
als that  they  may  be  thus  transported  to  the  spirit  world.  If 
the  temple  has  a farm  attached,  the  divinities  are  quite  likely 


140 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


to  be  obscured,  in  the  autumn,  by  the  crops  which  are  hung  up 
to  dry  all  about  and  even  over  them  ; for  storage  space  under  a 
roof  is  one  of  the  commodities  most  rare  in  the  village. 

The  temples  most  popular  in  one  region  may  be  precisely 
those  which  are  rarely  seen  in  another,  but  next  to  those  already 
named  perhaps  the  most  frequently  honoured  divinities  are  the 
Goddess  of  Mercy  ( Kuan  Yin  Plu  Sa),  some  variety  of  the 
manifold  goddess  known  as  “Mother”  (Niang  Niang),  and 
Buddha.  What  is  called  the  “Hall  of  the  Three  Religions  ” 
( San  Chiao  Pang),  is  one  of  the  instructive  relics  of  a time 
when  the  common  proposition  that  the  “ three  religions  are 
really  one  ” was  not  so  implicitly  received  as  now.  In  the  Hall 
of  the  Three  Religions,  Confucius,  Lao-tzu  (the  founder  of 
Taoism,  or  Rationalism),  and  Buddha,  all  stand  together  on  one 
platform ; but  Buddha,  the  foreigner,  is  generally  placed  in  the 
middle  as  the  post  of  honour,  showing  that  even  to  the  Chinese 
the  native  forms  of  faith  have  seemed  to  be  lacking  in  some- 
thing which  Buddhism  attempts  to  supply.  This  place  has  not 
been  obtained,  however,  without  a long  struggle. 

Another  form  of  genial  compromise  of  rival  claims,  is  what 
is  called  “The  Temple  of  All  the  gods  ” ( Ch‘iian  shen  miao ), 
in  which  a great  variety  of  deities  are  represented  on  a wall, 
but  with  no  clear  precedence  of  honour.  Temples  to  the  god 
of  Literature,  ( Wen  Ch‘ang),  are  built  by  subscriptions  of  the 
local  scholars,  or  by  taxes  imposed  by  the  District  Magistrate. 
It  is  impossible  to  arrive  at  any  exact  conclusions  on  the  sub- 
ject, but  it  is  probable  that  the  actual  cost  of  the  temples,  in 
almost  any  region  in  China,  would  be  found  to  form  a heavy 
percentage  of  the  income  of  the  people  in  the  district. 


The  World's  Oldest  Sacked  Mountain,  T‘ai  Shan.  Scenery  Along  the  River  I in. 


XII 


COOPERATION  IN  RELIGIOUS  OBSERVANCES 

'T'HE  genius  of  the  Chinese  for  combination  is  nowhere 
more  conspicuous  than  in  their  societies  which  have  a 
religious  object.  Widely  as  they  differ  in  the  special  purposes 
to  which  they  are  devoted,  they  all  appear  to  share  certain 
characteristics,  which  are  generally  four  in  number — the  con- 
tribution of  small  sums  at  definite  intervals  by  many  persons  ; 
the  superintendence  of  the  finances  by  a very  small  number  of 
the  contributors  ; the  loan  of  the  contributions  at  a high  rate 
of  interest,  which  is  again  perpetually  loaned  and  re-loaned  so 
as  to  accumulate  compound  interest  in  a short  time  and  in  large 
amounts  ; and  lastly,  the  employment  of  the  accumulations  in 
the  religious  observance  for  which  the  society  was  instituted, 
accompanied  by  a certain  amount  of  feasting  participated  in  by 
the  contributors. 

A typical  example  of  the  numerous  societies  organized  for  re- 
ligious purposes  may  be  found  in  one  of  those  which  have  for 
their  object  a pilgrimage  to  some  of  the  five  sacred  mountains 
of  China.  The  most  famous  and  most  frequented  of  them  all 
is  the  Great  Mountain  (T‘ai  Shan)  in  Shan-tung,  which  in  the 
second  month  of  the  Chinese  year  is  crowded  with  pilgrims 
from  distant  parts  of  the  empire.  For  those  who  live  at  any 
considerable  distance  from  this  seat  of  worship,  which  accord- 
ing to  Dr.  Williamson  is  the  most  ancient  historical  mountain 
in  the  world,  the  expense  of  travel  to  visit  the  place  is  an  ob- 
stacle of  a serious  character.  To  surmount  this  difficulty,  so- 
cieties are  organized  which  levy  a tax  upon  each  member,  of 
(say)  one  hundred  cash  a month.  If  there  are  fifty  members 
this  would  result  in  the  collection  of  5,000  cash  as  a first  pay- 

141 


142 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


ment.  The  managers  who  have  organized  the  society,  pro- 
ceed to  loan  this  amount  to  some  one  who  is  willing  to  pay  for 
its  use  not  less  than  two  or  three  per  cent,  a month.  Such 
loans  are  generally  for  short  periods,  and  to  those  who  are  in 
the  pressing  need  of  financial  help.  When  the  time  has  ex- 
pired, and  principal  and  interest  is  collected,  it  is  again  loaned 
out,  thus  securing  a very  rapid  accumulation  of  capital.  Suc- 
cessive loans  at  a high  rate  of  interest  for  short  periods,  are  re- 
peatedly effected  during  the  three  years,  which  are  generally 
the  limit  of  the  period  of  accumulation.  It  constantly  hap- 
pens that  those  who  have  in  extreme  distress  borrowed  such 
funds,  find  themselves  unable  to  repay  the  loan  when  it  is 
called  in,  and  as  benevolence  to  the  unfortunate  forms  no  part 
of  the  “virtue  practice  ” of  those  who  organize  these  societies, 
the  defaulters  are  then  obliged  to  pull  down  their  houses  or  to 
sell  part  of  their  farms  to  satisfy  the  claims  of  the  “Mountain 
Society.”  Even  thus  it  is  not  always  easy  to  raise  the  sum  re- 
quired, and  in  cases  of  this  sort,  the  unfortunate  debtor  may 
even  be  driven  to  commit  suicide. 

“Mountain  Societies”  are  of  two  sorts,  the  “Travelling,” 
( [hsing-shan  hui'),  and  the  “Stationary,”  ( tso-shan  hui').  The 
former  lays  plans  for  a visit  to  the  sacred  mountain,  and  for  the 
offering  of  a certain  amount  of  worship  at  the  various  temples 
there  to  be  found.  The  latter  is  a device  for  accomplishing 
the  principal  results  of  the  society,  without  the  trouble  and  ex- 
pense of  an  actual  visit  to  a distant  and  more  or  less  inaccess- 
ible mountain  peak.  The  recent  repeated  outbreaks  of  the 
Yellow  River  which  must  be  crossed  by  many  of  the  pilgrims 
to  the  Great  Mountain,  have  tended  greatly  to  diminish  the 
number  of  “ Travelling  Societies,”  and  to  increase  the  number 
of  the  stationary  variety. 

When  the  three  years  of  accumulation  have  expired,  the 
managers  call  in  all  the  money,  and  give  notice  to  the  mem- 
bers who  hold  a feast.  It  is  then  determined  at  what  date  a 
theatrical  exhibition  shall  be  given,  which  is  paid  for  by  the  ac- 


COOPERATION  IN  RELIGIOUS  OBSERVANCES 


143 


cumulation  of  the  assessments  and  the  interest.  If  the  mem- 
bers are  natives  of  several  different  villages,  a site  may  be 
chosen  for  the  theatricals  convenient  for  them  all,  but  without 
being  actually  in  any  one  of  them.  At  other  times  the  place  is 
fixed  by  lot. 

During  the  performance  of  the  theatricals,  generally  three 
days  or  four,  the  members  of  the  society  are  present,  and  may 
be  said  to  be  their  own  guests  and  their  own  hosts.  For  the 
essential  part  of  the  ceremony  is  the  eating,  without  which 
nothing  in  China  can  make  the  smallest  progress.  The  mem- 
bers frequently  treat  themselves  to  three  excellent  feasts  each 
day,  and  in  the  intervals  of  eating  and  witnessing  theatricals, 
they  find  time  to  do  more  or  less  worshipping  of  an  image  of 
the  mountain  goddess  ( T‘ai  Shan  niang-niang)  at  a paper 
“ mountain,”  which  by  a simple  fiction  is  held  to  be,  for  all 
intents  and  purposes,  the  real  Great  Mountain.  While  there 
does  not  appear  to  be  any  deeply-seated  conviction  that  there  is 
greater  merit  in  actually  going  to  the  real  mountain  than  in 
worshipping  at  its  paper  representative  at  home,  this  almost  in- 
evitable feeling  certainly  does  exist,  and  it  expresses  itself  for- 
cibly in  nicknaming  the  stationary  kind  “ squatting  and  fatten- 
ing societies”  (tun-piao  hui).  But  while  the  Chinese  are 
keenly  alive  to  the  inconsistencies  and  absurdities  of  their  prac- 
tices and  professions,  they  are  still  more  sensible  of  the  delights 
of  compliance  with  such  customs  as  they  happen  to  possess, 
without  a too  close  scrutiny  of  “ severe  realities.  ” The  reli- 
gious societies  of  the  Chinese,  faulty  as  they  are  from  whatever 
point  of  view,  do  at  least  satisfy  many  social  instincts  of  the 
people,  and  are  the  media  by  which  an  inconceivable  amount 
of  wealth  is  annually  much  worse  than  wasted.  It  is  a noto- 
rious fact,  that  some  of  those  which  have  the  largest  revenues 
and  expenditures,  are  intimately  connected  with  gambling  prac- 
tices. 

Many  large  fairs,  especially  those  held  in  the  spring,  which  is 
a time  of  comparative  leisure,  are  attended  by  thousands  of 


144 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


persons  whose  real  motive  is  to  gamble  with  a freedom  and  on 
a scale  impossible  at  home.  In  some  towns  where  such  fairs 
are  held,  the  principal  income  of  the  inhabitants  is  derived 
from  the  rent  of  their  houses  to  those  who  attend  the  fair,  and 
no  rents  are  so  large  as  those  received  from  persons  whose  oc- 
cupation is  mainly  gambling.  These  are  not  necessarily  pro- 
fessional gamblers,  however,  but  simply  country  people  who 
embrace  this  special  opportunity  to  indulge  their  taste  for  risk- 
ing their  hard-earned  money.  In  all  such  cases  it  is  necessary 
to  spend  a certain  sum  upon  the  underlings  of  the  nearest  ya- 
men,  in  order  to  secure  immunity  from  arrest,  but  the  profits  to 
the  keeper  of  the  establishment  (who  generally  does  not  gam- 
ble himself)  are  so  great,  that  he  can  well  afford  all  it  costs. 
It  is  probably  a safe  estimate  that  as  much  money  changes 
hands  at  some  of  the  large  fairs  in  the  payment  of  gambling 
debts,  as  in  the  course  of  all  the  ordinary  business  arising  from 
the  trade  with  the  tens  of  thousands  of  customers.  In  many 
places  both  men  and  women  meet  in  the  same  apartments  to 
gamble  (a  thing  which  would  scarcely  ever  be  tolerated  at  other 
times),  and  the  passion  is  so  consuming  that  even  the  clothes 
of  the  players  are  staked,  the  women  making  their  appearance 
clad  in  several  sets  of  trousers  for  this  express  purpose  ! 

The  routine  acts  of  devotion  to  whatever  god  or  goddess  may 
be  the  object  of  worship  are  hurried  through  with,  and  both 
men  and  women  spend  the  rest  of  their  time  struggling  to  con- 
quer fate  at  the  gaming-table.  It  is  not  without  a certain  pro- 
priety, therefore,  that  such  fairs  are  styled  “gambling  fairs.” 

The  “travelling”  like  the  “sitting”  society  gathers  in  its 
money  at  the  end  of  three  years,  and  those  who  can  arrange  to 
do  so,  accompany  the  expedition  which  sets  out  soon  after  New 
Year  for  the  Great  Mountain.  The  expenses  at  the  inns,  as 
well  as  those  of  the  carts  employed,  are  defrayed  from  the  com- 
mon fund,  but  whatever  purchases  each  member  wishes  to 
make  must  be  paid  for  with  his  own  money.  On  reaching 
their  destination,  another  in  the  long  series  of  feasts  is  held,  an 


COOPERATION  IN  RELIGIOUS  OBSERVANCES  145 

immense  quantity  of  mock  money  is  purchased  and  sent  on  in 
advance  of  the  party,  who  are  sure  to  find  the  six  hundred 
steps  of  the  sacred  mount,  (popularly  supposed  to  be  “ forty 
//”  from  the  base  to  the  summit),  a weariness  to  the  flesh.  At 
whatever  point  the  mock  money  is  burnt,  a flag  is  raised  to 
denote  that  this  end  has  been  accomplished.  By  the  time  the 
party  of  pilgrims  have  reached  this  spot,  they  are  informed 
that  the  paper  has  already  been  consumed  long  ago,  the  wily 
priests  taking  care  that  much  the  larger  portion  is  not  wasted 
by  being  burnt,  but  only  laid  aside  to  be  sold  again  to  other 
confiding  pilgrims. 

If  any  contributor  to  the  travelling  society,  or  to  any  other 
of  a like  nature,  should  be  unable  to  attend  the  procession  to 
the  mountain,  or  to  go  to  the  temple  where  worship  is  to  be 
offered,  his  contribution  is  returned  to  him  intact,  but  the  in- 
terest he  is  supposed  to  devote  to  the  virtuous  object  of  the 
society,  for  he  never  sees  any  of  it. 

The  countless  secret  sects  of  China,  are  all  of  them  examples 
of  the  Chinese  talent  for  cooperation  in  the  alleged  “ practice 
of  virtue.”  The  general  plan  of  procedure  does  not  differ  ex- 
ternally from  that  of  a religious  denomination  in  any  Western 
land,  except  that  there  is  an  element  of  cloudiness  about  the 
basis  upon  which  the  whole  superstructure  rests,  and  great 
secrecy  in  the  actual  assembling  at  night.  Masters  and  pupils, 
each  in  a graduated  series,  manuscript  books  containing  doc- 
trines, hymns  which  are  recited  or  even  composed  to  order, 
prayers,  offerings,  and  ascetic  observances  are  traits  which 
many  of  these  sects  share  in  common  with  other  forms  of  reli- 
gion elsewhere.  They  have  also  definite  assessments  upon  the 
members  at  fixed  times  without  which,  for  lack  of  a motive 
power,  no  such  society  would  long  hold  together. 


XIII 


COOPERATION  IN  MARKETS  AND  FAIRS 

TN  many  parts  of  China  the  farmer  comes  much  nearer  to  in- 
dependence  as  regards  producing  what  he  needs,  than  any 
class  of  persons  in  Western  lands.  This  is  especially  the  case 
where  cotton  is  raised,  and  where  each  family  tries  to  make  its 
own  clothing  from  its  own  crops.  But  even  with  the  minute 
and  indefatigable  industry  of  the  Chinese,  this  ideal  can  be 
only  imperfectly  reached.  No  poor  family  has  land  enough  to 
raise  all  that  it  requires,  and  every  family  not  poor  has  a multi- 
tude of  wants  which  must  of  necessity  be  supplied  from  with- 
out. Besides  this,  in  any  district  most  families  have  very  little 
reserve  capital,  and  must  depend  upon  meeting  their  wants  as 
they  arise,  by  the  use  of  such  means  as  can  be  secured  from 
day  to  day.  The  same  comparative  poverty  makes  it  necessary 
for  a considerable  part  of  the  population  to  dispose  of  some 
portion  of  its  surplus  products  at  frequent  intervals,  so  as  to 
turn  it  into  the  means  of  subsistence.  The  combined  effect  of 
these  various  causes  is  to  make  the  Chinese  dependent  upon 
local  markets  to  an  extent  which  is  not  true  of  inhabitants  of 
Occidental  countries. 

The  establishment  of  any  market,  and  even  the  mere  exist- 
ence of  the  class  of  buyers  and  of  sellers,  doubtless  involves  a 
certain  amount  of  cooperation.  But  Chinese  markets  while  not 
differing  materially  from  those  to  be  found  in  other  lands,  ex- 
hibit a higher  degree  of  cooperation  than  any  others  of  which 
we  know.  This  cooperation  is  exhibited  in  the  selection  both 
of  the  places  and  of  the  times  at  which  the  markets  shall  be 
held.  The  density  of  population  varies  greatly  in  different 
provinces,  but  there  are  vast  tracts  in  which  villages  are  to  be 

146 


COOPERATION  IN  MARKETS  AND  FAIRS 


>47 


met  at  distances  varying  from  a quarter  of  a mile  to  two  or 
three  miles,  and  many  of  these  villages  contain  hundreds,  and 
some  of  them  thousands  of  families. 

At  intervals  of  varying  frequency,  we  hear  of  towns  of  still 
larger  size  than  these  called  chen-tien,  or  market  towns,  and  in 
them  there  is  sure  to  be  a regular  fair.  But  fairs  are  not  con- 
fined to  the  clien-tien,  or  the  needs  of  the  people  would  by  no 
means  be  met.  Many  of  the  inferior  villages  also  have  a regu- 
lar market,  frequented  by  the  neighbouring  population,  in  a 
circle  of  greater  or  smaller  radius  according  to  circumstances. 
As  a rule  a village  seems  to  be  proud  of  its  fair,  and  the  natives 
of  such  a place  are  no  doubt  saved  a vast  amount  of  travel  for 
the  number  of  people  who  do  not  attend  a fair  is  small. 

We  have  met  with  one  case  of  a village  which  once  had  a 
market,  and  gave  it  up  in  favour  of  another  village,  for  the 
reason  that  the  collection  of  such  a miscellaneous  assemblage 
was  not  for  the  advantage  of  the  children  and  youth. 

The  market  is  under  the  supervision  of  headmen  of  the 
town,  and  some  markets  are  called  “official,”  because  the 
headmen  have  communicated  with  the  local  magistrate,  and 
have  secured  the  issuing  of  a proclamation  fixing  the  regula- 
tions under  which  business  shall  be  transacted.  This  makes  it 
easier  to  get  redress  for  wrongs  which  may  be  committed  by 
bad  characters  who  abound  at  village  markets  in  the  direct  ratio 
of  the  number  of  people  assembled.  Many  of  the  larger 
markets  bring  together  several  thousand  people,  sometimes  ex- 
ceeding ten  thousand  in  number,  and  among  so  many  there  are 
certain  to  be  numerous  gamblers,  sharpers,  thieves,  and  pick- 
pockets, against  whom  it  behoves  every  one  to  be  upon  his 
guard.  It  occasionally  happens  that  a feud  arises  between  two 
sets  of  villages,  as  for  example  over  an  embankment  which  one 
of  them  makes  to  restrain  the  summer  floods,  which  would  thus 
be  turned  toward  the  territory  of  the  other  villages.  In  such 
cases  it  is  not  uncommon  for  the  parties  to  the  quarrel  to  refuse 
to  attend  each  other’s  markets,  and  in  that  case  new  ones  will 


148 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


be  set  up,  with  no  reference  to  the  needs  of  the  territory,  but 
with  the  sole  purpose  of  breaking  off  all  relations  between 
neighbours. 

In  regions  where  animals  are  employed  for  farm-work,  all  the 
larger  markets  have  attached  to  them  “ live-stock  fairs,”  at 
which  multitudes  of  beasts  are  constantly  changing  hands.  It 
is  common  to  find  these  live-stock  fairs  under  a sort  of  official 
patronage,  according  to  which  the  managers  are  allowed  to 
levy  a tax  of  perhaps  one  per  cent,  on  the  sales.  Of  this  sum 
perhaps  ten  per  cent,  is  required  by  the  local  Commissioner  of 
Education  (hsiao-li ) for  the  purpose  of  supporting  his  establish- 
ment. The  rest  will  be  under  the  control  of  the  village  head- 
men, perhaps  for  the  nominal  purpose  of  paying  the  expenses 
of  a free  school,  the  funds  for  which  not  improbably  find  their 
way  largely  or  wholly  into  the  private  treasuries  of  those  who 
manage  the  public  affairs  of  the  village. 

The  times  at  which  village  markets  are  held  vary  greatly. 
In  large  cities  there  is  a market  every  day,  but  in  country 
places  this  would  involve  a waste  of  time.  Sometimes  the 
market  takes  place  every  other  day,  and  sometimes  on  every 
day  the  numeral  of  which  is  a multiple  of  three.  A more 
common  arrangement  however  seems  to  be  that  which  is  based 
upon  the  division  of  the  lunar  month  into  thirty  days.  In  this 
case  “one  market”  signifies  the  space  of  five  days,  or  the  in- 
terval between  two  successive  markets.  It  is  in  the  establish- 
ment of  these  markets  that  cooperation  is  best  illustrated.  If  a 
market  is  held  every  five  days,  it  will  occur  six  times  every 
moon,  for  if  the  month  happens  to  be  a “small”  one  of 
twenty-nine  days,  the  market  that  belongs  on  the  thirtieth  is 
held  on  the  following  day,  which  is  the  first  of  the  next  month. 
The  various  markets  will  be  designated  by  the  days  on  which 
they  occur,  as  “One-Six,”  meaning  the  market  which  is  held 
every  first,  sixth,  eleventh,  sixteenth,  twenty-first,  and  twenty- 
sixth  day  of  the  moon.  In  like  manner  “ Four-Nine,”  de- 
notes the  market  attended  on  the  fourth,  ninth,  fourteenth, 


Chinese  Market  Scene. 


COOPERATION  IN  MARKETS  AND  FAIRS 


149 


nineteenth,  twenty-fourth,  twenty-ninth  days,  similarly  with  the 
rest.  Every  village  will  probably  have  a market  within  reach 
every  day  in  the  month,  that  is  to  say,  every  day  in  the  year. 
In  one  direction  for  example  is  to  be  found  a “One-Six” 
market,  in  another  “Two-Seven,”  in  still  others  a “Three- 
Eight,”  a “Four-Nine,”  and  a “Five-Ten.”  Some  of  these 
will  be  small  markets,  and  some  much  larger,  but  the  largest 
one  will  be  attended  by  customers,  especially  wholesale  dealers 
in  cotton,  cloth,  etc.,  from  great  distances.  The  Chinese  make 
nothing  of  walking  to  a market  three,  eight,  or  even  ten  miles 
away ; for  it  is  not  a market  only,  but  a kind  of  general  ex- 
change, where  it  is  proverbially  likely  that  any  one  will  meet 
any  one  else. 

Every  village  being  thus  surrounded  with  a ring  of  markets, 
each  of  these  is  also  a cog  in  a wheel,  playing  into  other  wheels 
on  each  side  of  it.  All  those  who  attend  a large  market  come 
to  have  a wide  acquaintance  with  persons  for  great  distances  on 
each  side  of  them,  and  the  needs  of  all  persons  both  buyers  and 
sellers  are  adequately  met. 

The  word  which  we  have  translated  “ market  ” (chi)  denotes 
merely  a gathering,  and  another  character,  (hut')  is  reserved 
for  an  assemblage  of  a much  larger  character,  which  is  properly 
a fair.  The  number  of  persons  who  attend  these  fairs  frequently 
rises  to  between  ten  and  twenty  thousand,  giving  a stranger  the 
impression  that  the  entire  population  of  several  counties  must 
have  been  turned  loose  at  once.  Fairs  are  to  be  found  in  the 
largest  Chinese  cities,  as  well  as  in  towns  of  every  grade  down 
even  to  small  hamlets,  though  the  proportion  of  towns  and 
villages  which  support  a fair  is  always  a small  one.  It  appears 
to  be  a general  truth  that  by  far  the  larger  part  of  these  large 
fairs  owe  their  existence  to  the  managers  of  some  temple.  The 
end  in  view  is  the  accumulation  of  a revenue  for  the  use  of  the 
temple,  which  is  accomplished  by  levying  certain  taxes  upon 
the  traffic,  and  by  the  collection  of  a ground-rent.  The  latter 
is  also  a feature  of  the  village  market,  the  proprietor  of  each 


1 5o 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


bit  of  ground  appearing  at  each  market  to  collect  of  the  persons 
who  have  occupied  his  land,  either  a fixed  amount,  or  a per- 
centage upon  their  sale  or  supposed  sales. 

In  the  larger  centres  of  population,  it  is  common  to  find  fairs 
held  for  a month  or  more  at  a time,  and  in  some  places  there 
are  several  of  these  fairs  every  year,  forming  the  centres  of  ac- 
tivity around  which  all  the  life  of  the  place  revolves.  In  such 
places  the  inhabitants  make  a good  profit  by  renting  buildings 
to  the  multitudes  who  come  from  a distance  to  sell  and  to  buy, 
and  where  this  is  the  case,  when  the  fair  is  not  in  operation  the 
city  frequently  appears  to  be  nearly  extinct.  But  trade  no 
sooner  begins,  than  countless  thousands  throng  the  lately  almost 
deserted  streets. 

In  order  to  make  a fair  a success,  it  is  necessary  that  the 
managers  should  be  men  of  enterprise  and  of  sufficient  business 
ability  to  deal  with  the  many  difficulties  which  are  likely  to 
arise.  They  exercise  a certain  supervision  over  everything,  and 
are  technically  responsible  for  what  goes  wrong,  though  this 
responsibility  they  frequently  evade.  In  order  to  attract  a large 
attendance,  it  is  generally  necessary  for  fairs  which  are  to  last 
four  days,  to  begin  with  a theatrical  representation,  which  con- 
tinues till  the  close.  Sometimes,  however,  the  players  fail  to 
appear,  and  in  that  case  the  whole  fair  may  come  to  nothing. 
These  large  fairs  are  attended  by  merchants  representing  cities 
many  hundred  miles  distant,  and  dealing  in  every  article  which 
is  likely  to  attract  customers. 

As  the  means  of  transportation  are  very  inadequate  and  loco- 
motion is  always  slow  and  difficult,  the  merchants  who  go 
about  from  one  fair  to  another  for  many  months  of  the  year, 
lead  a life,  or  rather  an  existence,  which  is  far  from  enviable. 
The  half-month  holiday  with  which  the  Chinese  year  begins  is 
no  sooner  over  than  the  large  fairs  begin  also,  and  they  con- 
tinue with  intermissions  throughout  the  rest  of  the  year.  There 
is  a brief  interval  for  the  wheat  harvest,  an  event  of  the  great- 
est importance  to  every  class  of  the  population,  and  the  rainy 


COOPERATION  IN  MARKETS  AND  FAIRS  151 

season  generally  causes  another  interruption,  often  so  serious  a 
one  as  to  upset  all  plans  for  two  months  or  more. 

The  principal  cooperative  element  in  fairs  lies  in  so  arranging 
them  as  to  dovetail  into  one  another  with  least  loss  of  time  to 
the  travelling  merchants.  The  success  generally  attained  is 
offset  by  many  conspicuous  failures,  due  to  the  Chinese  thirst 
for  gaining  advantage  over  rivals,  irrespective  of  the  interests  of 
others,  which  in  matters  involving  cooperation,  often  results  in 
disappointment.  Thus,  it  is  not  uncommon  to  find  that  while 
the  posters  announcing  a fair  have  been  put  up  all  through  the 
country-side  for  an  entire  month,  no  one  can  tell  when  it  is 
really  to  begin.  That  the  day  for  beginning  is  “fixed”  is  a 
point  of  no  consequence  whatever,  for  with  the  exception  of 
eclipses  nothing  in  China  is  so  “ fixed  ” that  it  is  not  subject 
to  alteration,  and  this  exception  may  be  thought  to  be  due  to 
the  circumstance  that  eclipses  are  not  under  the  supervision  of 
the  Chinese.  We  have  known  repeated  instances  in  which 
persons  who  wished  to  attend  a large  fair,  the  date  of  which 
has  been  “ fixed  ” for  generations,  have  travelled  many  miles 
at  great  inconvenience,  once  and  again,  only  to  find  that  it  was 
delayed  owing  to  the  fact  that  nobody  had  come,  every  one 
being  apparently  engaged  in  waiting  for  every  one  else.  But 
infelicities  like  this  are  universal  and  constant  in  China,  where 
punctuality  is  “a  lost  art.” 


XIV 


COOPERATIVE  LOAN  SOCIETIES 


MONG  the  most  characteristic  examples  of  Chinese  capac- 


ity for  combination,  are  Loan  Societies,  which  seem 
everywhere  to  abound.  The  object  of  these  organizations  is 
the  same  as  that  of  similar  associations  elsewhere,  but  it  may  be 
doubted  whether  the  Chinese  methods  of  procedure  are  not 
unique.  As  in  everything  else  Chinese,  with  a general  simi- 
larity, there  is  such  divergence  in  detail,  that  it  is  sometimes 
very  difficult  for  natives  of  one  district,  even  to  comprehend 
the  rules  of  the  Loan  Societies  of  other  and  perhaps  adjoining 
counties. 

The  reasons  for  the  extensive  organization  of  these  societies, 
are  those  to  which  attention  has  been  repeatedly  called.  Every 
Chinese  has  constant  occasion  to  use  money  in  sums  which  it  is 
very  difficult  for  him  to  command.  The  rate  of  interest  is 
always  so  high,  that  a man  who  is  compelled  to  borrow  a con- 
siderable amount,  upon  which  he  must  pay  interest  at  two  and 
a half,  three,  or  even  four  per  cent,  a month,  will  not  improb- 
ably be  swamped  by  the  endeavour  to  keep  up  with  his  cred- 
itors, a fact  of  which  everyday  experience  furnishes  countless 
examples.  By  distributing  the  payments  over  a long  period, 
and  by  the  introduction  of  an  element  of  friendship  into  a 
merely  commercial  transaction,  the  Chinese  is  able  to  achieve 
the  happy  result  of  uniting  business  with  pleasure.  Of  the 
measure  of  success  attained  we  may  be  better  able  to  judge, 
after  an  examination  of  the  processes  pursued. 

The  simplest  of  the  many  plans  by  which  mutual  loans  are 
effected,  is  the  contribution  of  a definite  sum  by  each  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  society  in  rotation  to  some  other  one  of  their  number. 


COOPERATIVE  LOAN  SOCIETIES 


*53 


When  all  the  rest  have  paid  their  assessment  to  the  last  man  on 
the  list,  each  one  will  have  received  back  all  that  he  put  in  and 
no  more.  The  association  is  called  in  some  places  the  “ Club 
of  the  Seven  Worthies  ” ( Ch‘i  hsien  hui).  The  technical  name 
for  any  association  of  the  kind  in  which  cooperation  is  most  con- 
spicuous, is  She.  The  man  who  is  in  need  of  money  ( She-chu ) 
invites  certain  of  his  friends  to  cooperate  with  him,  and  in 
turn  to  invite  some  of  their  friends  to  do  the  same.  When  the 
requisite  number  has  been  secured,  the  members  (She-yu),  as- 
semble and  fix  the  order  in  which  each  shall  have  the  use  of 
the  common  fund.  This  would  probably  be  decided  by  lot. 
Unless  the  amount  in  question  is  a very  trifling  one,  every 
meeting  of  the  members  for  business  purposes  will  be  accom- 
panied with  a feast  attended  by  all  the  partners,  and  paid  for 
either  by  the  one  for  whose  benefit  the  association  was  organ- 
ized, or  by  the  person  whose  turn  it  is  to  use  the  common  fund. 

At  the  first  feast,  given  by  the  organizer  of  the  association, 
each  of  the  members  attends  provided  with  the  sum  agreed 
upon,  let  us  suppose  10,000  cash,  which  is  paid  over  to  the 
headman,  60,000  cash  in  all,  to  be  used  by  him,  for  a certain 
fixed  period,  say  a year.  The  next  year,  the  feast  is  given  by 
the  person  who  drew  the  second  lot;  the  headman  puts  10,000 
cash  into  the  treasury,  and  each  of  five  other  members  the  same 
sum,  all  of  which  is  paid  over  to  number  three,  who  in  like 
manner  employs  it  for  a year,  when  in  the  same  way  the  fourth 
takes  his  turn.  At  the  end  of  six  years  each  of  the  seven 
members  will  have  had  a turn,  each  will  have  received  60,000 
cash  without  interest,  and  each  will  have  paid  out  60,000  cash 
for  which  he  has  likewise  received  no  interest.  Each  one  will 
have  been  accommodated  with  the  handling  of  a larger  sum 
than  he  could  have  otherwise  obtained,  at  the  end  each  one  has 
lost  nothing  in  money,  but  has  had  six  more  or  less  excellent 
feasts,  a matter  from  a Chinese  point  of  view  of  some  practical 
importance,  however  lightly  it  might  be  esteemed  by  a West- 
erner. 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


>54 

It  would  seem  that  the  simple  form  of  cooperative  borrow- 
ing here  described,  is  by  no  means  so  common  as  some  of  the 
various  societies  in  which  interest  is  paid,  and  it  is  not  perhaps 
surprising  that  this  should  be  the  case.  The  Chinese  are  so 
much  in  the  habit  of  paying  an  extortionate  sum  for  the  use  of 
the  money  of  others,  that  it  doubtless  appears  to  the  average 
borrower  that  if  he  has  exacted  a high  interest,  he  has  made  a 
better  bargain  than  if  he  had  received  no  interest  at  all,  al- 
though he  must  eventually  pay  out  just  as  much  interest  as  he 
receives,  and  is  demonstrably  no  better  off  at  the  final  pay- 
ment than  if  he  had  borrowed  and  lent,  disregarding  interest 
altogether. 

The  methods  of  societies  which  exact  interest  for  loans,  differ 
greatly  in  every  detail,  and  there  is  evidently  no  limit  to  the 
variations  which  local  custom  may  adopt  in  any  particular  dis- 
trict. In  some  regions  the  ordinary  number  of  members  ap- 
pears to  be  sixteen  as  in  the  case  just  supposed.  In  others,  the 
number  rises  to  thirty  or  even  more.  Sometimes  the  meetings 
are  held  annually,  in  other  districts  the  usual  rule  is  semi- 
annual meetings,  in  the  second  and  eighth  moons.  In  societies 
where  the  rate  of  interest  is  fixed,  the  only  thing  to  be  decided 
by  lot,  or  by  throwing  dice,  will  be  the  order  in  which  the 
members  draw  out  the  common  fund.  This  may  not  improb- 
ably be  determined  at  the  first  meeting,  each  member  taking 
his  turn  in  accordance  with  the  excellence  or  otherwise  of  his 
throws  with  the  dice.  But  if,  as  often  happens,  the  interest  is 
left  open  to  competition,  this  competition  may  take  place  by  a 
kind  of  auction,  each  one  announcing  orally  what  he  is  willing 
to  pay  for  the  use  of  the  capital  for  one  term,  the  highest  bid- 
der taking  the  precedence,  but  no  member  ever  has  a second 
turn.  If  the  oral  method  of  competition  is  not  used,  a still 
better  plan  may  be  adopted.  This  consists  of  prepared  slips, 
like  ballots,  noting  an  offer  of  interest,  deposited  by  each  mem- 
ber in  a box,  the  highest  bidder  getting  the  precedence,  and  in 
case  of  like  amounts  offered  by  different  bidders  a second  bal- 


COOPERATIVE  LOAN  SOCIETIES 


>55 

lot  to  decide  who  will  add  the  most  to  his  previous  offer.  It  is 
easy  to  see  that  in  this  way,  the  interest  to  be  paid  might  not 
be  the  same  for  any  two  loans,  in  which  case  there  would  seem 
to  be  inevitable  some  complexity  in  the  accounts.  But  for  the 
most  part,  the  Chinese  appear  to  take  involved  computations  of 
this  nature  with  surprising  facility,  especially  considering  the 
limited  practice  in  mathematics  which  most  of  them  have  en- 
joyed. 

For  the  sake  of  greater  simplicity,  we  will  take  a case  in 
which  the  interest  for  each  period  is  assumed  to  be  one-fifth  of 
the  principal,  in  which  the  number  of  members  is  ten,  besides 
the  organizer  of  the  society,  and  in  which  the  amount  loaned 
by  each  member  is  10,000  cash.  It  is  also  assumed  that  in 
this  case  the  headman  for  whose  benefit  the  lending  was  begun, 
does  not  repay  the  loan  in  money,  but  only  in  spreading  at 
each  meeting  a feast  of  specially  good  quality.  The  interest 
is  of  the  nature  of  a “bank  discount,”  and  is  therefore  col- 
lected in  advance,  the  only  certain  way,  it  may  be  remarked, 
to  collect  it  at  all.  Each  man,  it  will  be  observed,  with  the 
exception  of  the  first,  actually  receives  only  8,000  cash,  but  re- 
pays to  each  One  who  follows  him  in  drawing,  a full  10,000. 
The  result  will  be  best  seen  in  a tabulated  form,  as  follows  : 

(The  headman  makes  the  feast  only,  but  does  not  repay  the 
loan.) 

The  headman  receives  from  each  member  10,000  cash  (ten 
strings)  xo  X 10  = 100. 


Number  2 receives  9 

“ 3 

‘ 8 

“ 4 

‘ 7 

“ 5 

‘ 6 

“ 6 

‘ 5 

“ 7 

‘ 4 

“ 8 

‘ 3 

“ 9 

* 2 

“ 10 

‘ 1 

“ 11 

‘ 9 

X 8=  ...  72 

X 8 = 64  + 10  = 74 

X 8 = 56  -j-  20  = 76 

X 8 = 48  -j-  30  = 78 

X 8 = 40  -j-  4°  — 7° 

X 8 = 32  5°  = 82 

X 8 = 24  -f-  60  = 84 

X 8 = 16  -j-  70  = 86 

X 8 = 8 -j-  80  = 88 

Xio  ---  ...  90 


i56 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


In  the  following  modification  of  the  plan  of  loan,  the  head- 
man pays  back  his  loan,  like  the  other  members,  and  also  pro- 
vides each  feast,  which  is  regarded  as  his  interest. 


Headman  receives  io  X io  strings  = ioo 


Number  2 
“ 3 

“ 4 

“ 5 

“ 6 

“ 7 

“ 8 

“ 9 

“ 10 

“ 11 


9 X 
8 X 


5 X 

4 X 


8 = 72  + 

8 = 64  — |— 

8 = 56  + 
8 = 48  "4" 

8 = 40  -J- 

8 = 32  + 
X 8 — 24  -j- 
X 8 = 16  + 
X8=  8 + 


3 
2 
1 

10  Xio  = 


10  — 82 
20  : - 84 
30  = 86 
40  = 88 
50  = 90 
60  — 92 
70  = 94 
80  = 96 
90  z=  98 
IOO 


In  these  examples  it  will  be  observed  that  the  earlier  each 
member  draws  his  money,  the  less  he  gets  on  his  investment. 
In  the  case  last  supposed,  the  final  recipient,  who  has  no  inter- 
est to  pay,  but  who  receives  interest  from  all  but  the  headman, 
gets  back  all  his  money  in  a lump,  with  interest  upon  it.  As 
already  remarked,  for  the  sake  of  simplicity  we  have  disre- 
garded the  actual  time  for  which  the  money  L loaned,  and  for 
convenience  have  assumed  a rate  of  interest  which  would  prob- 
ably be  below  the  real  one.  It  is  evident  that  so  far  as  financial 
considerations  go,  taken  by  themselves,  it  is  for  the  advantage 
of  the  partners  to  come  as  late  in  the  drawing  as  possible.  But 
it  is  far  from  being  the  case  that  financial  considerations  are  the 
only  matters  to  be  taken  into  account.  The  man  who  needs 
money,  and  who  can  never  be  sure  of  getting  as  much  as  he 
needs  upon  any  better  terms  than  these,  will  gladly  take  it  as 
soon  as  he  can  get  it,  arranging  the  wedding  for  which  he  per- 
haps wishes  to  employ  it,  to  suit  the  time  of  the  loan. 

Like  other  human  contrivances,  Chinese  loan  societies  are  to 
be  judged  by  their  results.  The  practical  operation  of  these 
organizations  often  presents  an  instructive  view  of  many  aspects 
of  Chinese  life.  The  man  for  whose  benefit  the  society  is  got 


COOPERATIVE  LOAN  SOCIETIES 


>57 


together  does  not  find  that  others  are  hungering  and  thirsting 
to  do  him  a good  turn,  unless  they  clearly  see  their  way  to  re- 
cover what  they  put  in,  with  liberal  interest.  It  is  therefore 
often  necessary  to  use  a great  deal  of  persuasion,  to  induce  one 
to  join,  and  especially  to  persuade  him  to  bring  in  others.  No 
one  is  willing  to  enter  into  a society  of  this  kind  unless  it  is 
reasonably  certain  that  every  member  will  meet  every  assess- 
ment, for  if  any  individual  fails  to  pay,  everything  is  at  a dead- 
lock. To  guard  against  this,  it  is  customary  to  have  security, 
or  bondsmen,  in  some  instances  the  headman  acting  as  bail  for 
all  the  rest.  In  case  of  failure  on  the  part  of  any  member  to 
meet  his  payment,  the  headman  is  then  required  to  pay  the 
amount  lacking,  and  this  he  is  of  course  very  unwilling  to  do, 
however  freely  he  has  engaged  to  do  so.  Troubles  of  this  na- 
ture lead  to  many  fights,  and  if  this  extreme  measure  is  not  re- 
sorted to,  it  is  not  at  all  unlikely  that  the  person  technically 
responsible  will  try  the  familiar  method  of  begging  off,  striving 
to  induce  a creditor  to  accept  a k‘o-t‘ou  in  place  of  cash.  If 
sufficient  pressure  can  be  brought  to  bear  in  favour  of  any  de- 
faulting member,  this  plan  may  succeed  in  its  object,  as  well  as 
in  breaking  up  the  loan  society. 

Where  the  number  is  enlarged  to  more  than  a score,  as  in 
some  districts,  the  probability  that  some  one  will  fail  to  meet 
his  obligations  is  greatly  increased.  It  is  also  a fatal  objection 
to  these  long  loans,  that  before  the  whole  term  of  years  elapses, 
it  is  morally  certain  that  something  will  occur  to  disturb  the 
very  unstable  financial  equilibrium  of  the  members.  For  in- 
stance, the  T‘ai-p‘ing  rebellion,  with  its  long  train  of  sorrows, 
and  the  continual  famines  and  floods  of  later  years  in  Northern 
China,  have  tended  to  bring  loan  societies  into  discredit,  be- 
cause experience  has  shown  that  thousands  of  persons  have  put 
into  them  what  could  never  be  recovered.  It  is  the  almost 
unanimous  testimony  of  the  Chinese  whom  the  writer  has  con- 
sulted on  the  subject,  that  in  these  days  such  societies  fail  to 
accomplish  their  uses,  and  are  little  better  than  a fraud. 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


lS8 

Whether  a man  loses  by  them,  or  not,  will  depend,  however, 
mainly  on  his  own  skill  in  keeping  out  of  those  which  are  un- 
safe, regardless  of  the  pressure  which  may  be  brought  to  bear 
upon  him.  Some  men  will  tell  you  that  they  have  been  part- 
ners several  times  and  have  never  lost  their  capital,  or  only  lost 
it  once,  while  others  have  a totally  different  account  to  give. 

A Chinese  whose  easy-going  disposition  made  him  a valuable 
neighbour  to  those  who  wished  to  borrow  without  being  at  the 
inconvenience  of  repaying,  stated  that  he  had  been  six  times  a 
member  of  a loan  society,  and  while  once  the  capital  had  been 
doubled  by  a fortunate  speculation,  on  each  of  the  five  other 
occasions  he  had  lost  all,  or  nearly  all,  put  in.  That  such  ex- 
periences are  far  from  being  uncommon,  is  testified  by  a cur- 
rent adage,  to  the  effect  that  if  a man  has  been  in  a loan  soci- 
ety with  another  three  separate  times,  if  he  has  not  been 
cheated,  he  has  at  least  been  robbed  ! 

After  the  foregoing  account  of  Cooperative  Loan  Societies 
was  written,  a suit  was  reported  in  the  Hong  Kong  papers,  which 
well  serves  to  illustrate  the  legal  difficulties  which  seem  to  puzzle 
not  only  the  lawyers,  but  apparently  the  Judges  also,  for  the  case 
which  was  first  heard  in  July,  came  on  for  another  hearing  upon 
appeal  the  next  January,  and  was  not  decided  until  the  follow- 
ing March.  There  were  four  plaintiffs  and  four  defendants.  It 
appeared  that  twelve  men  decided  to  form  a Money  Loan  Asso- 
ciation, one  of  them  being  trustee,  and  taking  up  the  subscrip- 
tions. Each  member  undertook  to  pay  $50  per  month,  by 
which  a sum  of  $600  would  be  made  up.  Each  month  the 
members  were  to  meet  at  a dinner,  paid  for  by  each  of  the 
members  in  turn,  and  at  these  dinners  tenders  were  received 
for  the  fund  of  $600,  the  member  offering  the  highest  interest 
getting  the  “ pool,”  less  the  amount  of  interest.  After  the 
association  had  run  for  eight  months,  the  headman  or  trustee 
failed  in  business,  disappeared,  and  the  association  came  to  an 
end. 

The  four  persons  who  had  paid  money  into  the  association 


COOPERATIVE  LOAN  SOCIETIES 


r59 


for  eight  months,  and  who  had  received  no  benefit,  sued  the 
other  four  members  who  had  ceased  to  pay  their  subscriptions 
after  the  failure  in  business  of  the  trustee.  The  defence  was 
that  the  only  person  responsible  was  this  trustee,  and  that  all 
the  sums  claimed  had  been  paid  to  him  by  the  defendants. 
The  Acting  Chief  Justice,  who  heard  the  case,  was  of  the 
opinion  that  the  subscriptions  not  paid  were  due,  and  that  the 
trustee  had  no  authority  from  the  other  members  to  receive  be- 
forehand any  contributions,  and  the  Justice  accordingly  gave 
judgment  for  the  plaintiff's. 

The  case  was  appealed,  and  counsel  stated  upon  its  coming 
up  that  it  was  appealed  on  a question  of  law.  He  related  the 
circumstances  of  the  case,  and  maintained  that  there  was 
no  contract  between  either  of  the  plaintiffs  and  the  four  defend- 
ants jointly  or  severally,  that  they  would  pay  a sum  of  $200. 
The  only  contract  proved  and  shown,  was  a contract  that  each 
of  the  members  would  contribute  to  a common  fund  which  he 
might  not  get  in  the  first  instance,  but  which  he  was  certain  to 
get  some  time.  He  therefore  submitted  that  there  was  no  con- 
tract at  common  law  on  which  this  action  could  be  maintained, 
and  that  there  was  absolutely  no  means  of  deciding  the  issues 
in  such  a case. 

To  this  statement,  the  opposing  counsel  replied  by  admitting 
that  there  was  a certain  amount  of  difficulty  in  working  out  the 
scheme  as  a whole,  yet  unless  their  Lordships  held  that  these 
men  were  liable  in  this  case,  the  prosecutors  were  practically 
deprived  of  any  remedy  at  all.  He  submitted  that  this  was 
against  the  whole  intention  of  the  association,  which  was  in  a 
certain  sense  for  profit,  for  the  mutual  help  of  its  members,  and 
the  common  good  of  all.  To  hold  that  no  action  was  main- 
tainable individually,  would  be  holding  out  a premium  for  dis- 
honesty, because  the  man  who  got  the  first  payment  would  then 
leave  the  Colony. 

At  this  point  the  Justice  remarked  that  this  was  what  very 
often  happened.  In  delivering  his  opinion,  the  Justice  said 


i6o 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


that  he  thought  the  case  was  a claim  for  money  lent,  but  it  had 
been  treated  as  a claim  for  the  return  of  $50  from  each  of  the 
defendants  in  respect  of  a money  loan  association.  At  the 
trial  the  defendants  had  denied  that  they  had  made  any  con- 
tract with  the  plaintiffs,  and  referred  to  the  fact  that  certain 
meetings  of  the  association  had  been  held,  and  that  the  other 
meetings  had  not  been  regularly  called  in  accordance  with  the 
articles  of  association.  That  being  so,  he  held  that  there 
was  no  contract  between  the  various  members  of  the  associa- 
tion, which  would  enable  one  member  to  sue  another,  and 
therefore  he  decided  in  favour  of  the  appellants. 

The  Puisne  Judge  said  that  the  contract  entered  into,  was 
either  one  between  the  defendants  and  one  of  the  plaintiffs,  or 
else  it  was  a mutual  contract  between  the  defendants,  and  the 
other  members  of  the  association.  In  the  first  case  the  plain- 
tiffs could  not  recover,  and  if  it  was  a mutual  contract  between 
all  the  members  of  the  association,  there  ought  to  be  a suit  in 
equity  to  ascertain  what  were  the  various  rights  of  the  parties, 
and  all  the  members  of  the  association  must  be  parties  to  that 
action.  And  so  he  also  gave  judgment  in  favour  of  the  ap- 
pellants, with  costs.  The  money  which  had  been  paid  into 
court,  pending  the  appeal,  would  be  paid  out. 

Whoever  takes  the  trouble  to  follow  these  arguments,  and  the 
facts  upon  which  they  rest,  ought  to  be  convinced  of  several 
propositions : that  it  is  very  easy  to  make  arrangements  to  pay 
out  money  to  Chinese ; that  it  is  very  easy  not  to  get  that 
money  back  again ; that  when  there  is  a hitch  in  the  intricate 
business  of  adjustment,  it  is  not  unlikely  to  take  all  the  lawyers 
and  Judges  of  a Crown  Colony  nine  months  to  find  out  the 
law  and  equity,  and  that  when  the  case  has  been  decided  it  is 
difficult  for  an  ordinary  mortal  to  judge  whether  the  decision 
was  right  or  wrong  ! 


XV 


SOCIETIES  FOR  WATCHING  THE  CROPS 

TN  a country  where  the  poor  are  in  such  a majority  as  in 
**■  China,  and  where  the  fields  are  altogether  open,  it  is  de- 
sirable if  not  necessary  to  have  some  plan  by  which  property  so 
unprotected  can  be  effectively  watched.  In  every  orchard,  as 
soon  as  the  fruit  begins  to  show  the  smallest  sign  of  ripeness, 
the  owner  keeps  some  of  his  family  on  guard  day  and  night,  un- 
til the  last  apricot,  plum  or  pear  is  removed  from  the  trees. 
The  darker  and  the  more  rainy  the  night,  the  more  is  vigilance 
required,  so  that  a family  with  a bearing  orchard  is  under  the 
most  absolute  bondage  to  this  property  for  a part  of  every  year. 
During  the  months  of  July  and  August  the  fields  are  dotted 
with  little  booths  some  of  them  overrun  with  climbing  vines, 
and  each  of  these  frail  tenements  is  never  for  a moment  de- 
serted until  the  crops  have  all  been  removed.  In  some  regions 
the  traveller  will  observe  these  huts  built  upon  a lofty  staging 
so  as  to  command  a wide  view,  and  they  are  often  put  up  even 
in  fields  of  sorghum,  which  would  not  seem  likely  to  be 
stolen.  But  the  lofty  growth  of  this  stalwart  plant  is  itself  a 
perfect  protection  to  a thief,  so  that  it  is  much  more  difficult 
to  watch  than  crops  far  less  elevated  from  the  ground.  Grow- 
ing to  an  altitude  of  from  ten  to  fifteen  feet,  it  completely  ob- 
scures the  horizon,  and  practically  obliterates  all  landmarks. 
So  far  as  knowing  where  one  goes,  a traveller  might  as  well  be 
plunged  into  an  African  jungle.  Even  the  natives  of  a region 
sometimes  get  lost  within  a few  li  of  their  own  village  on  a 
cloudy  day.  The  autumn  crops  of  Shan-tung  consist  of  the 
innumerable  kinds  of  millet,  sorghum,  (which,  though  called 
“tall  millet,”  has  no  affinity  with  real  millet;)  beans;  Indian 

161 


162 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


corn,  or  maize ; peanuts ; melons  and  squashes ; sweet-potatoes 
and  other  vegetables  (the  others  mostly  in  small  patches); 
hemp ; sesame  ; and  especially  cotton.  There  are  many  other 
items,  but  these  are  the  chief. 

Of  all  these  diverse  sorts  of  produce,  there  are  hardly  more 
than  two  which  do  not  cause  the  owners  anxiety,  lest  they  be 
stolen  from  the  field.  The  heads  of  sorghum  and  of  millet  are 
easily  clipped  off.  Nothing  is  easier  than  rapidly  to  despoil  a 
field  of  corn,  or  to  dig  sweet-potatoes.  The  latter,  indeed,  are 
not  safe  from  the  village  dogs,  which  have  learned  by  ages  of 
experience  that  raw  vegetable  food  is  much  better  than  no  food 
at  all.  What  requires  the  most  unceasing  vigilance,  however, 
are  the  melon  patches  and  the  orchards.  Of  watermelons, 
especially,  the  Chinese  are  inordinately  fond.  Every  field  is 
fitted  with  a “lodge  in  a garden  of  cucumbers,”  and  there  is 
some  one  watching  day  and  night.  The  same  is  true  of  the 
“fruit  rows,”  familiarly  called  hang-tzii.  Birds,  insects,  and 
man  are  the  immitigable  foes  of  him  who  has  apples,  pears, 
peaches,  plums,  cherries,  apricots  and  grapes.  If  the  orchard 
is  of  any  size,  there  may  be  collusion  between  the  thieves,  who 
appear  at  both  ends  at  once.  Both  sets  cannot  be  pursued. 
The  crows  and  the  blue-jays  are  the  worst  bird  robbers,  but 
they  can  be  scared  off,  especially  with  a gun.  The  human  pil- 
ferers are  not  to  be  so  easily  dealt  with.  The  farmer’s  hope  is 
that  seeing  that  some  one  is  on  guard  they  will  go  elsewhere, 
and  steal  from  those  not  on  guard.  Hence  everybody  is  obliged 
to  stand  guard  over  everything. 

Where  the  population  is  densest,  the  extent  to  which  this 
must  be  carried  passes  belief.  In  such  regions  about  dusk  an 
exodus  sets  forth  from  a village  like  that  in  the  early  morning 
to  go  to  the  fields  to  work.  By  every  path  the  men,  women, 
and  even  children  stream  forth.  Light  wooden  beds,  covered 
with  a layer  of  the  stiff  sorghum  stalk,  are  kept  out  in  the  fields 
for  constant  use.  A few  sorghum  stalks  are  twisted  together  at 
the  top,  and  a piece  of  old  matting  tacked  on  the  sunny  side, 


Crop- Watcher 's  Lodge. 


Reaping  Millet. 


SOCIETIES  FOR  IV /ITCHING  THE  CROPS  163 

and  under  such  a wretched  shelter  sits  a toothless  old  woman 
all  day  and  all  night  with  alternations. 

Very  few  farmers  have  their  land  all  in  one  plot.  A farm  of 
not  more  than  eighty  Chinese  acres  may  consist  of  from  five  to 
fifteen  pieces  lying  on  different  sides  of  the  village.  And  how 
do  you  contrive  to  “watch  all  these  all  night”  ? you  inquire. 
“ Oh  we  have  to  go  from  one  to  the  other,”  you  are  told.  In 
the  case  of  cotton,  the  temptation  to  pick  that  of  others  is  ab- 
solutely irresistible.  The  watchman  sees  some  one  at  the  end 
of  the  field  meandering  slowly  along  with  a basket  on  his  arm, 
picking  cotton  as  he  goes.  The  watchman  yells,  “ Who  are 
you  ? ’ ’ and  the  figure  moves  along  a little  faster,  but  does  not 
stop  picking.  If  he  disappears  into  the  patch  of  some  one  else, 
that  is  success.  But  should  the  watchman  become  angry,  as  he 
certainly  will,  and  should  he  pursue,  as  he  is  likely  to  do,  and 
should  he  overtake,  as  is  possible,  then  the  trouble  begins. 
Should  the  thief  not  get  away  in  the  scuffle,  he  ought  to  be 
taken  before  the  village  headmen  and  dealt  with.  If  from  an- 
other village,  he  probably  will  be  tied  up  in  the  village  temple, 
possibly  beaten,  and  subsequently  released  upon  payment  of  a 
fine.  But  the  real  difficulty  is  that  many  of  the  thieves  are 
from  the  same  village  as  the  owners  of  the  land  the  products  of 
which  they  are  appropriating.  Not  improbably  they  are 
“cousins”  of  the  farmer  himself.  Perhaps  they  are  his 
“uncles”  or  even  his  “grandfathers.”  If  so,  that  compli- 
cates matters  very  much.  Chinese  ideas  of  meum  and  tuiini 
are  to  our  thought  laxity  itself  under  the  most  favourable  con- 
ditions. But  these  conditions  are  the  most  unfavourable.  The 
unity  of  the  family  is  as  that  of  a compound  individual. 

It  is  to  afford  some  relief  from  these  almost  insupportable 
evils  that  societies  for  watching  the  crops  have  originated. 
They  are  by  no  means  of  universal  occurrence,  but  like  most 
other  Chinese  institutions,  are  to  be  met  with  in  some  districts, 
while  others  immediately  adjoining  may  be  wholly  unacquainted 
with  their  working.  We  have  known  a District  Magistrate  in 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


164 

trying  a case  in  which  one  of  the  defendants  was  a professional 
watcher  of  the  crops,  to  be  completely  mystified  by  the  term 
“ crop-watcher  ” which  had  to  be  explained  to  him,  as  if  to  a 
foreigner,  although  he  was  himself  a native  of  an  adjacent 
province. 

The  villages  which  have  entered  into  some  one  of  the  associ- 
ations for  the  protection  of  their  crops,  generally  proclaim  this 
fact  by  painting  or  whitewashing  upon  the  side  of  some  con- 
spicuous temple  four  characters  ( Rung  k'an  i p‘o,)  signifying 
that  the  fields  are  looked  after  in  common.  This  proposition 
embodies  a meaning  which  varies  in  different  places.  Some- 
times it  denotes  that  a certain  number  of  persons  are  on  guard 
each  night,  in  which  case  the  number  (or  some  number  which 
purports  to  be  the  real  one)  will  perhaps  be  found  posted  on  a 
temple  wall  with  a view  to  striking  awe  into  intending  depre- 
dators (in  case  they  should  be  persons  of  education),  by  show- 
ing how  numerous  are  the  chances  of  detection. 

When  a fixed  number  of  persons  is  employed,  the  expense  is 
shared  by  the  village,  being  in  fact  a tax  upon  the  land,  paid 
in  the  direct  ratio  of  the  amount  of  land  which  each  one  owns. 
In  other  cases  the  arrangement  for  guarding  standing  crops  is 
entered  into  by  a single  village,  or  more  probably  by  a consid- 
erable number  of  contiguous  villages.  The  details  are  agreed 
upon  at  a meeeting  called  for  the  purpose  in  some  temple  con- 
venient to  all  the  villages,  and  the  meeting  is  attended  by  rep- 
resentatives of  each  village  interested.  At  this  meeting  are 
settled  the  steps  to  be  taken  in  case  of  the  arrest  of  offenders. 
This  is  a matter  of  supreme  importance,  being  in  fact  the  pivot 
upon  which  the  whole  machinery  turns.  If  there  is  weakness 
here,  the  whole  machine  will  be  a failure. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  reason  for  the  organization 
of  such  a society  as  this  is  the  fact  that  so  many  poor  people 
everywhere  exist,  whose  only  resource  is  to  steal.  In  the  con- 
sultations preliminary  to  the  organization  of  a crop-protecting 
league,  the  poor  people  of  the  various  villages  concerned  have 


SOCIETIES  FOR  WATCHING  THE  CROPS  165 

no  voice,  but  they  must  be  considered,  for  they  will  contrive  to 
make  themselves  felt  in  many  disagreeable  ways.  It  will  be 
agreed  that  any  person  owning  land  in  any  village  belonging  to 
the  league  is  bound  to  seize  and  report  any  person  whatever 
whom  he  may  find  stealing  the  crops  of  any  person  in  any  of 
these  villages.  But  as  this  is  the  weakest  point  of  all  such 
agreements  among  the  Chinese,  it  is  further  provided  that  if 
any  person  finds  some  one  stealing  and  fails  to  seize  and  re- 
port the  offender,  and  if  the  fact  of  this  omission  is  ascer- 
tained, the  person  guilty  of  such  omission  shall  be  held  to  be 
himself  guilty  of  the  theft,  and  shall  be  fined  as  if  he  were  the 
thief. 

To  provide  an  adequate  tribunal  to  take  cognizance  of  cases 
of  this  sort,  the  representatives  of  the  several  villages  concerned, 
in  public  assembly  nominate  certain  headmen  from  each  vil- 
lage, who  constitute  a court  before  which  offenders  are  to  be 
brought,  and  by  which  fines  are  to  be  fixed.  When  a thief  is 
captured  he  is  brought  to  the  village,  and  the  men  appointed 
for  the  purpose  are  summoned,  who  hear  the  report  of  the  cap- 
tors,  and  decide  upon  the  fine.  In  cases  of  special  importance 
the  village  gong  may  be  beaten,  so  as  to  collect  the  headmen 
with  the  greater  celerity.  Much  will  depend  upon  what  kind 
of  a man  the  culprit  is,  and  upon  the  status  of  the  family  to 
which  the  culprit  belongs  may  be.  There  are  some  well-to-do 
people  who  are  not  above  stealing  the  crops  of  others,  and  such 
persons  are  certain  to  be  subjected  to  a heavy  fine  by  way  of  “ ex- 
emplary damages.”  The  select-men  who  manage  these  cases 
have  no  regular  way  of  punishing  offenders  but  by  the  infliction 
of  a fine,  though  culprits  are  undoubtedly  sometimes  tied  up 
and  beaten  by  exasperated  neighbours,  as  the  writer  at  one  time 
happened  to  see  for  himself.  But  such  cases  must  be  relatively 
rare.  The  fines  imposed  must  be  paid  immediately,  and  should 
this  be  refused  or  delayed,  the  penalty  would  be  an  accusation 
at  the  yamSn  of  the  District  Magistrate,  which  being  backed  by 
all  the  principal  men  of  the  village,  or  of  a group  of  villages, 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


166 

would  be  certain  to  issue  in  the  punishment  of  the  prisoner,  as 
the  Magistrate  would  be  sure  to  assume  that  a prosecution  of 
this  nature  was  well  grounded.  The  poorest  man  would  have 
reason  to  dread  being  locked  up  in  a cangue  for  a month  or 
two  at  the  busy  time  of  harvest,  when  it  is  especially  important 
for  him  to  be  at  liberty. 

The  coloured  resident  of  Georgia  who  complained  that  a 
black  man  had  no  chance  in  that  State,  being  obliged  “to 
work  hard  all  day  and  steal  all  night  in  order  to  make  an  hon- 
est living,”  represented  a class  to  be  found  in  all  parts  of  China, 
and  a class  which  must  be  taken  into  account.  Wherever  ar- 
rangements are  made  for  the  protection  of  the  crops  from 
thieves,  it  is  a necessary  adjunct  of  the  rules  that  the  owners  of 
the  fields  must  follow  the  judicious  plan  of  Boaz  of  ancient 
Bethlehem,  who  ordered  his  reapers  not  to  be  too  careful  to 
gather  closely,  that  the  gleaners  might  not  glean  in  vain. 
Matters  of  this  sort,  even  to  the  length  of  the  stubble  which 
shall  be  left  in  the  fields,  are  not  infrequently  the  subject  of 
agreement  and  of  regulation,  for  they  are  matters  of  large  im- 
portance to  many  poor  people. 

In  districts  where  the  kao-liang  (or  sorghum)  plant  is  culti- 
vated it  is  common  to  strip  off  some  of  the  lower  leaves  with 
a view,  as  one  is  told,  to  allowing  the  stalks  “ to  breathe  ” more 
freely  that  the  grain  may  ripen  better.  Where  this  practice 
prevails,  the  day  on  which  the  stripping  of  the  leaves  shall  be- 
gin is  sometimes  strictly  regulated  by  agreement,  and  no  per- 
son, rich  or  poor,  is  allowed  to  anticipate  the  day.  But  on 
that  day  any  one  is  at  liberty  to  strip  leaves  from  the  fields  of 
any  one  else,  provided  he  does  not  go  above  the  stipulated 
height  on  each  plant.  These  leaves  are  much  prized  as  food 
for  animals.  The  day  before  the  stripping  of  kao-liajig  leaves 
is  to  begin,  warning  is  sounded  on  the  village  gong,  and  the 
next  day  all  the  people  make  this  their  main  business. 

Far  more  important  than  leaf-stripping  is  the  regulation  of 
the  gleaning  of  cotton.  In  many  parts  of  China,  the  cotton 


SOCIETIES  FOR  WATCHING  THE  CROPS  167 

crop  is  the  most  valuable  product  of  the  soil,  and  it  enjoys  the 
distinction  of  being  perhaps  the  only  article  raised  in  the  em- 
pire which  is  to  every  man,  woman  and  child  an  absolute 
necessity.  As  soon  as  the  cotton-picking  season  sets  in,  women 
and  children  in  the  regions  where  this  is  the  staple  crop  are  ab- 
sorbed in  this  fatiguing  labour  to  the  exclusion  of  almost  every- 
thing else.  With  the  first  frost  falls,  the  best  of  the  season  has 
passed,  though  the  cotton  balls  continue  to  open  for  a long  time 
afterward.  It  is  considered  to  be  the  prerogative  of  the  poor 
people  to  pick  cotton  wherever  they  can  find  it  after  a certain 
(or  rather  a very  uncertain)  date,  and  the  determination  of  this 
date  is  settled  in  some  districts  by  a proclamation  of  the  Magis- 
trate himself,  for  no  lesser  authority  would  be  heeded.  But  in 
other  regions  this  affair,  like  most  others,  is  altogether  relegated 
to  local  agreement,  either  of  a single  village,  or  a group  of  vil- 
lages with  each  other.  The  day  upon  which  it  first  becomes 
lawful  to  pick  indiscriminately  in  any  cotton  field,  a joyful  one 
for  the  poor,  is  called  “relaxation  of  punishment,”  because  the 
fines  are  no  longer  to  be  enforced.  At  this  time  swarms  of  peo- 
ple are  to  be  seen  streaming  to  the  fields,  and  many  people  go 
great  distances  from  home,  because  the  picking  there  is  better. 
An  acquaintance  of  the  writer  remarked  that  his  wife  had  been 
gone  from  home  for  more  than  ten  days  gleaning  in  some  region 
where  the  crops  were  better  than  nearer  home,  sleeping  mean- 
time in  any  doorway  or  cart-house  from  which  she  was  not 
driven  away. 

It  sometimes  happens  that  the  rich  people  attempt  to  exclude 
the  poor  from  the  large  estates  belonging  to  the  former,  but 
this  is  seldom  successful,  and  can  never  be  good  policy.  The 
writer  once  saw  a dispute  between  the  owner  of  a large  cotton- 
field  and  many  hundred  poor  women  and  children  who  were 
about  to  precipitate  themselves  upon  the  remnants  of  the  crop. 
Even  while  the  debate  as  to  the  proprieties  of  the  case  was  in 
progress,  a very  large  number  of  the  poor  people  who  cared 
much  more  for  the  cotton  than  for  the  proprieties,  pressed  on 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


168 

to  gather  what  they  might,  leaving  others  to  settle  the  question 
of  abstract  right  as  pleased  themselves. 

Reference  has  been  repeatedly  made  to  the  fines  imposed  for 
a violation  of  the  village  laws  or  agreements,  and  it  was  re- 
marked that  the  crucial  point  of  the  protection  of  crops,  is  found 
here.  It  is  customary  to  employ  the  fines  collected  from  such 
offenders  for  the  purpose  of  hiring  a theatrical  company,  which 
always  proves  to  be  a very  expensive  method  of  enjoying  a sur- 
plus of  money,  since  the  incidental  expenses  of  a theatrical  rep- 
resentation, especially  in  the  entertainment  of  guests,  are  often 
ten  times  greater  than  the  sum  paid  to  the  players. 

Spending  the  night  in  the  fields  during  the  harvest  season, 
when  the  ground  is  generally  saturated  with  moisture,  con- 
stantly induces  malaria,  rheumatism  and  pneumonia,  as  well  as 
many  other  ailments.  But  the  necessity  is  imperative,  and  all 
risks  must  be  disregarded,  or  there  would  be  nothing  to  eat  for 
a year.  The  quarrels  which  inevitably  arise  from  crop  pilfer- 
ing and  the  other  concomitants  of  an  autumn  harvest,  give  rise 
to  serious  feuds,  as  well  as  to  devastating  lawsuits,  the  money 
cost  of  which  may  be  a thousand  times  the  value  of  the  prop- 
erty in  question.  But  under  such  conditions  every  Chinese 
crop  is  gathered  in  year  by  year,  and  such  have  apparently 
been  perpetuated  from  the  earliest  dawn  of  Chinese  history. 


XVI 


VILLAGE  AND  CITY  RAIN-MAKING 

TT  is  one  of  the  eccentricities  of  the  Chinese,  that  although 
they  have  developed  elaborate  philosophies,  none  of  them 
have  led  them  to  confidence  in  the  uniformity  of  nature. 
Polytheism  has  no  basis  for  such  a view.  Thus  it  comes  about 
that  in  an  empire  which  is  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  ex- 
amples of  homogeneity  the  world  has  ever  seen,  neither  the 
people  nor  their  rulers  have  any  fixed  opinions  as  to  the  causes 
upon  which  the  rain-fall  depends.  In  the  province  of  Shan- 
tung a great  variety  of  beings  real  and  imaginary  are  wor- 
shipped to  cause  the  fall  of  water  to  adjust  itself  to  the  needs  of 
the  farmers.  Among  the  divinities  thus  honoured  are  the  God- 
dess of  Mercy  who  in  the  south  of  China  is  generally  regarded 
as  male  ; the  God  of  War  ; the  Dragon  God,  or  Lung  Wang; 
and  a Tai  Wang,  which  is  popularly  supposed  to  be  incarnated 
in  a serpent,  frequently  a water-snake,  but  in  default  of  that  a 
common  garter-snake  will  do  just  as  well.  Whenever  one  of 
these  Tai  Wangs  is  discovered,  it  is  common  to  notify  the  near- 
est local  official,  and  it  is  expected  that  he  will  go  and  worship 
it.  Many  years  ago  Li  Hung  Chang  performed  this  service  at 
Tientsin,  where  there  is  a very  large  temple  to  Tai  Wang. 

As  if  these  incongruous  adjuvants  of  nature  were  not  enough, 
there  are  some  who  worship  Yu  Huang  Shang  Ti,  or  Pearly 
Emperor  Supreme  Ruler,  and  still  others  think  they  have  war- 
rant in  offering  sacrifice  and  worship  to  “ Sun  Ta  Sheng,”  who 
is  nothing  more  than  an  imaginary  character  in  the  novel 
known  as  “ Travels  to  the  West.”  Sun  was  originally  a mon- 
key hatched  by  a process  of  evolution  out  of  a stone,  but  his 
exploits  are  so  many  and  so  striking  that  the  popular  mind  has 

169 


170 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


settled  on  him  as  a suitable  being  to  superintend  the  rain-fall. 
Yet  his  worship  is  apparently  limited,  and  like  that  of  all  the 
divinities  mentioned  extremely  irregular.  The  same  village 
that  worships  the  God  of  War  now,  may  worship  the  Goddess 
of  Mercy  next  time,  perhaps  on  the  principle  of  judicious  ro- 
tation. 

Besides  all  these,  there  is  another  and  quite  a different  plan 
in  extensive  use.  In  the  ancient  but  now  ruined  city  of  Han 
Tan  Hsien,  (in  Western  Chih-li)  there  is  a temple  on  the 
premises  of  which  there  is  a famous  well,  in  which  are  a vast 
number  of  iron  tablets.  Whenever  there  is  a scarcity  of  rain,  it 
is  almost  always  a last  resort,  after  the  District  Magistrate  has 
made  the  rounds  of  all  the  temples  in  and  about  his  city,  to 
post  off  an  official  messenger  to  Han  Tan  Hsien — a journey 
of  several  days — to  get  an  iron  tablet  out  of  the  well.  The 
messenger  takes  an  iron  tablet  from  the  city  whence  he  starts  on 
which  is  inscribed  the  date  of  the  journey,  and  the  name  of  the 
District  which  makes  the  petition,  and  on  his  arrival  repairs  to 
the  Taoist  temple,  where  for  a certain  sum  he  is  provided  with 
another  iron  tablet  taken  from  the  well,  into  which  the  tablet 
now  brought  is  thrown. 

On  his  return  journey  the  messenger  is  supposed  to  eat 
nothing  but  bran,  and  to  travel  at  the  top  of  his  speed  day  and 
night.  His  arrival  is  anxiously  awaited.  And  now  emerges  a 
characteristic  Chinese  performance.  The  counties  through 
which  his  route  lies  are  not  unlikely  just  as  much  in  need  of 
rain  as  the  one  which  sends  the  messenger  : the  people  of  these 
districts  not  infrequently  waylay  the  messenger  temporarily,  and 
“borrow”  his  tablet,  which  is  thus  “invited”  to  the  other 
district,  and  the  rain-fall  will  take  place  there,  instead  of  in  the 
one  to  which  it  ought  to  belong. 

At  first  glance  it  certainly  appears  singular  that  so  practical  a 
people  as  the  Chinese  can  put  the  least  faith  in  mummeries  of 
this  sort,  but  the  truth  seems  to  be  that  very  little  actual  faith  is 
exercised,  these  performances  only  taking  place  in  default  of  an 


VILLAGE  AND  CITY  RAIN- MAKING 


171 


acquaintance  with  the  laws  which  govern  the  meteorology  of 
the  empire.  Besides  this,  the  months  in  which  the  most  resort 
is  had  to  such  performances  are  the  fifth  and  the  sixth,  and 
these  are  the  ones  in  which  the  rain-fall  is  due.  As  a limit  of 
some  ten  days  is  generally  set  for  the  efficacy  of  these  petitions, 
it  is  extremely  likely  that  the  term  will  be  coincident  with  a fall 
of  rain,  which  fall  will  be  credited  to  the  petition  ; whereas  the 
failure  of  the  petition  is  set  down  to  some  wholly  different 
reason. 

An  incident  which  occurred  in  one  of  the  western  counties 
of  Shan-tung  makes  plain  even  to  the  most  obtuse  Chinese  in- 
tellect the  inconveniences  of  a wrong  theory  of  the  universe. 
A party  of  villagers  with  flags  and  a drum  were  on  their  way 
to  a temple  to  pray  for  rain.  They  met  a man  leading  a horse, 
on  which  was  seated  a married  woman  returning  from  one 
of  the  customary  visits  to  her  mother’s  family.  She  had  a 
child  in  her  arms,  and  the  hired  labourer  leading  the  horse  had 
on  a wide  straw  hat.  Now  it  is  one  of  the  eccentricities  of  the 
inaccurate  views  of  those  who  pray  for  rain  to  non-existent 
monkeys  and  to  garter-snakes,  that  they  also  entertain  miscon- 
ceptions as  to  the  causes  which  hinder  rain.  Foreigners  carry- 
ing umbrellas  have  been  mobbed  as  the  efficient  cause  of  drought. 
The  water-spouts  of  a new  consulate  in  a treaty-port  have  been 
complained  of  as  drawing  off  the  moisture  that  was  meant  for 
the  whole  province.  So  in  this  case  the  big  straw-hat  of  the 
rustic  was  resented  as  “ contra-indicated  ” — as  the  physicians 
say — by  the  rain-prayers.  The  peasant  was  roared  at,  and  a 
long  pike-staff  was  thrust  into  his  hat  which  was  thrown  from 
his  head  upon  the  horse,  which  being  frightened  pulled  away 
and  plunged  ahead.  The  woman  could  not  keep  her  seat,  first 
dropping  her  child  which  was  dashed  to  the  ground  and  killed. 
The  woman’s  foot  caught  in  a stirrup  and  she  was  dragged  for 
a long  distance  and  when  the  horse  was  at  length  stopped  she 
too  was  dead.  She  was  pregnant,  so  that  in  one  moment  three 
lives  had  been  sacrificed.  The  hired  man  ran  on  a little  way 


172 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


to  the  woman’s  home,  told  his  story,  and  as  the  men  of  the 
family  happened  to  be  at  home,  they  all  seized  whatever  imple- 
ments they  could  find  and  ran  after  the  rain-prayers,  with  whom 
they  fought  a fierce  battle  killing  four  or  five  of  them  outright. 
The  case  went  into  the  District  yamen,  and  what  became  of  it 
then,  we  do  not  know. 

Among  the  other  eccentricities  of  rain-producing,  is  the  bor- 
rowing of  a god  from  one  village  for  use  in  another.  If  he  suc- 
ceeds in  getting  rain  he  is  taken  back  in  honour ; otherwise  he 
is  not  unlikely  to  be  left  where  he  happened  to  be  deposited 
when  worshipped,  the  villagers — like  a set  of  commissioners  for 
educational  examination — being  solely  influenced  by  “results.” 
In  other  instances  if  the  god  does  not  show  signs  of  apprecia- 
tion of  the  need  of  rain,  he  may  be  taken  out  into  the  hot  sun 
and  left  there  to  broil,  as  a hint  to  wake  up  and  do  his  duty. 
A bunch  of  willows  is  thrust  into  his  hand,  because  the  willow 
is  sensitive  to  the  smallest  moisture.  It  is  a common  saying  in 
China  that  “when  the  Floods  wash  away  the  temple  of  Lung 
Wang  (the  Dragon  King)  it  is  a case  of  not  knowing  one’s  own 
folks.”  Yet  this  is  what  constantly  happens. 

It  is  more  than  forty  years  since  the  Yellow  River  changed 
its  course  to  its  present  one,  taking  the  bed  of  a small  stream 
known  as  the  Clear  River  and  bringing  with  the  turbid  torrent 
devastation  and  utter  ruin.  During  more  than  an  entire 
generation  Central  Shan-tung  has  been  cursed  with  “ China’s 
Sorrow,”  and  even  when  the  course  was  altered  again  in  1887, 
the  Government  spent  fabulous  sums,  and  at  last  brought  the 
stream  back  again  into  its  former  bed — a feat  which  few 
foreigners  who  saw  the  new  channel  thought  it  possible  to  ex- 
ecute. 

The  next  year  the  region  was  visited  by  a corps  of  Dutch 
engineers,  who  made  an  elaborate  survey  and  published  an  ex- 
haustive report,  to  which  the  Chinese  Government  paid  no  at- 
tention whatever.  The  plea  at  that  time  was  lack  of  money, 
but  the  funds  could  have  been  had  if  the  execution  of  the  work 


VILLAGE  AND  CITY  RAIN- MAKING 


173 


had  been  put  into  foreign  hands,  than  whom  no  more  com- 
petent ones  than  the  Dutch  could  have  been  found.  But  at  the 
time  when  the  Director  General  of  the  Yellow  River — a title 
the  humour  of  which  is  lost  on  the  Chinese — memorialized  the 
Throne  on  the  necessity  of  employing  foreign  science  for  this 
otherwise  hopeless  task,  his  proposal  was  rebuked  by  the  Em- 
press Dowager  as  “ premature  and  ostentatious  ! ” 

According  to  Chinese  ideas  the  “Three  Harmonies”  are 
“Heaven,  Earth,  and  Man.”  All  three  of  them  are  at  present 
out  of  sorts  with  each  other.  What  is  imperatively  needed  is  a 
reconciliation,  but  this  can  never  be  had  until  the  Chinese 
come  to  a more  accurate  appreciation  of  the  limits  of  the 
powers  of  each  of  the  triad.  A new  set  of  men  would  soon 
make  a new  earth,  and  then  the  heavens  would  be  found  to  be 
well  enough  as  they  are.  In  the  course  of  ten  years  enough 
water  falls  for  the  use  of  all,  and  not  too  much  to  be  managed. 
But  man  must  learn  how  to  control  it,  and  until  he  does  so, 
“ Heaven,  earth  and  man  ” will  never  be  in  right  relations. 


XVII 


THE  VILLAGE  HUNT 

* I AHERE  are  parts  of  the  wide  province  of  Shan-tung,  in 
which  there  are  great  sheets  of  clear  and  deep  water 
much  frequented  by  water-fowl,  especially  in  the  autumn  and 
in  the  winter.  In  any  Western  land  these  districts  would  be 
the  paradise  of  hunters,  but  here  the  ducks  and  the  geese  go 
their  several  ways  in  “peace  and  tranquillity  along  the  whole 
road,”  undisturbed  by  the  gun  of  the  sportsman  or  the  pot- 
hunter. This  is  due  to  an  old-time  custom  of  the  yamen  in  the 
Prefectural  city  contiguous  to  the  largest  marshes,  of  levying  a 
squeeze  on  the  results  of  the  gunner’s  toil,  a squeeze  so  com- 
prehensive and  virtually  prohibitory  in  its  action  that  water- 
fowl  are  practically  out  of  the  market  altogether. 

There  is  a record  in  the  life  of  Dr.  Medhurst,  one  of  the 
pioneer  missionaries  in  China,  and  father  of  Sir  Walter  Med- 
hurst, sometime  Her  Majesty’s  Consul-General  in  Shanghai,  of 
a trip  which  he  and  a companion  made  north  from  Shanghai 
along  the  coasts  of  Shan-tung.  Their  plan  was  to  debark  from 
the  fishing  junk  in  which  they  had  taken  passage,  cut  across 
from  one  headland  to  another  and  then  rejoin  their  vessel  to  re- 
peat the  same  process  farther  on.  In  this  way  they  succeeded 
in  penetrating  to  a few  fishing  villages  and  had  conversation 
with  a handful  of  people  all  along  shore.  With  charming 
frankness  the  historian  of  this  pioneer  tour  mentions  that  they 
nowhere  saw  any  wild  animals.  We  can  readily  believe  him,  for 
even  at  this  advanced  stage  of  extended  exploration,  the  only  wild 
animal  that  the  most  experienced  traveller  is  likely  to  see  is  the 
hare,  albeit  there  are  sundry  others  such  as  weasels,  a kind  of 

!74 


THE  VILLAGE  HUNT 


*75 


ground-fox,  and  the  like,  which  do  not  obtrude  themselves  to 
any  extent  in  public. 

It  is  said  that  in  the  little  kingdom  of  Denmark  the  citizens 
have  a winter  sport  which  consists  in  a general  and  organized 
hunt  for  hares  on  the  part  of  all  the  male  population  of  a very 
extended  territory,  starting  from  a given  point  and  working  in 
a definite  direction,  under  precise  and  carefully  observed  rules. 
At  the  close  of  the  hunt  there  is  a great  feast  to  which  all  are 
welcomed,  and  the  whole  performance  is  one  to  which  there  is 
much  anxious  looking  forward  on  the  part  of  the  young  and 
vigorous  country-folk.  It  is  strange  to  meet  with  a custom  of 
the  same  kind  in  China,  but  there  is  an  ancient  district  in 
Shan-tung,  known  as  P'ing-yiien,  or  Level-plains,  where  the 
Danish  custom  flourishes  in  full  force,  but  minus  the  very  im- 
portant concluding  feast.  For  where  is  the  Chinese  who  would 
have  the  courage  or  indeed  the  means  to  welcome  the  countless 
swarms  of  his  country-side  to  enjoy  the  pleasure  of  eating  at 
somebody  else’s  expense  ? 

The  whole  arrangement  of  this  combination  hunt  is  in  the 
hands  of  a few  impecunious  fellows  who  have  the  right  of 
"protecting  ” merchants  at  the  great  fairs  from  imposition  by 
other  rascals,  by  means  of  levying  a prophylactic  black-mail  of 
their  own  on  a certain  day  at  the  principal  market  of  the  region. 
A man  who  has  no  single  spear  of  hair  on  his  head  passes  up 
and  down  the  crowded  lanes  of  the  market,  and  calls  out  that 
on  such  and  such  a day  there  will  be  an  attack  by  all  the  peo- 
ple of  the  "north  district”  on  the  hares.  This  notice  is  re- 
peated with  varied  iteration,  until  the  word  is  comprehended  by 
all  those  within  hearing,  each  one  goes  home  and  tells  the  rest 
of  the  village,  and  on  the  set  day  all  are  ready  for  the  fray. 
The  reason  for  having  the  notice  circulated  by  a bald  man  ex- 
clusively is  the  eminently  Chinese  one  that  in  the  Mandarin 
dialect  the  word  for  Bald — T‘u — and  that  for  Hare  are  iden- 
tical in  sound.  This  circumstance  once  led  to  a very  singular 
error  on  the  part  of  a bright  little  child  of  certain  foreigners 


176 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


living  in  Shan-tung.  One  of  the  employees  of  the  establish- 
ment had  been  off  somewhere  on  a donkey,  and  while  he  was 
leading  it  homeward  the  beast  broke  away  and  galloped  off.  A 
lad  who  was  cutting  grass  in  the  neighbourhood  saw  the  fleeing 
animal,  rushed  out  and  caught  it,  holding  it  till  the  rider  came 
up.  On  their  reaching  home  the  dramatic  story  was  told  in 
the  hearing  of  the  lad,  and  the  capture  of  the  donkey  was  ac- 
credited to  a little  “T‘u-tzu”  or  “Bald-boy.”  The  foreign 
child  heard  the  thrilling  narrative  which  he  duly  retailed  at  the 
parental  dinner-table,  only  he  translated  the  name  “ T‘u-tzu  ” as 
Hare,  the  only  kind  of  t‘u-tzu  of  which  he  had  ever  heard  ! 

On  the  day  appointed  for  the  hare-hunt,  almost  the  whole 
population  of  the  district  to  be  beaten  up  turn  out  to  help  in 
the  sport.  They  often  stand  as  thick  together  as  soldiers  in 
ranks.  The  frightened  hares  go  from  one  side  to  the  other  of 
the  wide-spreading  ring,  but  as  every  one  of  the  human  assail- 
ants has  a stick  and  many  of  them  have  two,  the  chances  of 
escape  for  the  hare  are  reduced  below  zero.  It  is  a law  of  the 
game  that  whoever  succeeds  in  seizing  a hare  must  hold  it  aloft, 
and  in  a loud  tone  cry  out,  “I  raise  it”  (chii),  after  which  it 
is'his,  and  no  one  can  take  it  from  him  lawfully.  Nevertheless, 
Chinese  human  nature  is  much  like  the  article  in  other  parts  of 
the  world,  and  the  results  are  apt  to  be  serious  quarrels,  fights, 
broken  heads  and  limbs  and  perhaps  lawsuits.  But  with  that 
practical  talent  for  which  Chinese  officials  are  distinguished, 
the  Magistrates  refuse  to  hear  any  case  arising  from  these  con- 
ditions, so  that  it  is  necessary  to  have  them  settled,  as  by  far 
the  majority  of  all  Chinese  law  cases  are,  out  of  court  by 
“peace-talkers.” 

How  easy  it  is  for  quarrels  to  arise  even  among  a most  peace- 
able people  like  the  Chinese,  with  or  without  a hare-hunt,  is  il- 
lustrated by  an  incident  which  occurred  some  years  since,  many 
of  the  actors  in  which  are  well  known  to  the  writer. 

A few  villagers  were  returning  late  on  a moonlight  night 
from  a funeral  in  another  village.  Nearing  their  own  hamlet, 


THE  VILLAGE  HUNT 


177 


they  came  on  two  young  fellows  chopping  down  small  trees  of 
the  kind  called  date  (a  jujube  or  rhamnus).  They  were  getting 
ready  clubs  for  the  combined  hare-hunt  next  day.  On  being 
hailed,  the  youths,  who  were  trespassing  on  the  territory  of 
their  neighbouring  village,  fled  to  their  home  pursued  by  the 
others.  The  latter  returned  to  their  own  village  and  maliciously 
spread  the  report  that  the  young  men  had  been  cutting  pine 
trees  from  the  clan  graveyard.  Although  it  was  late  at  night 
a posse  was  soon  raised  to  go  to  the  other  village  (about  a mile 
off)  and  demand  satisfaction.  The  village  was  asleep,  but 
some  headmen  were  at  last  aroused  who  begged  their  visitors 
to  postpone  the  matter  till  daylight,  when  the  case  would  be 
looked  into  and  the  culprits  punished,  and  any  required  satis- 
faction given. 

To  the  reasonable  request,  only  reviling  was  retorted,  and 
the  band  returned  to  their  own  village  filled  with  fury.  A gong 
was  beaten,  every  man  in  the  village  aroused  and  every  male 
of  fit  age  forced  to  accompany  the  mob  armed  with  clubs, 
poles,  etc.,  to  attack  the  other  village.  The  latter  happened  to 
have  a mud  wall  and  gates  kept  closed  at  night.  So  large  a 
band  made  a great  noise,  and  soon  roused  their  antagonists  by 
their  abusive  language.  The  village  elders  struggled  to  keep 
the  gates  closed,  but  they  were  overborne  by  the  hot  blood  of 
the  youth,  who  were  resolved,  since  they  must  have  it,  to  give 
their  assailants  all  the  satisfaction  they  wanted.  The  gates 
once  opened,  a furious  battle  ensued,  and  the  women  who  clam- 
bered to  the  flat-house  tops  and  struggled  to  see  what  was  going 
on  heard  only  the  dull  whacks  of  heavy  blows.  Several  men 
were  knocked  senseless,  and  on  the  cry  that  they  had  been 
killed,  the  battle  was  renewed  until  the  attacked  were  driven 
inside  their  village,  each  side  having  several  men  wounded, 
some  of  them  severely.  One  old  man  had  his  skull  beaten  in 
with  a carrying-pole  and  was  bom  home  unconscious,  in  which 
condition  he  remained  for  a week  or  two. 

The  next  morning  the  attacking  village  went  out  and  chopped 


178 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


down  three  little  pine-trees  growing  in  their  own  cemetery  (as 
“ proof  ” of  the  injury  done  by  the  other  party),  and  proceeded 
to  the  District  city  to  enter  a complaint.  The  other  village  of 
course  did  the  same.  The  first  village  took  with  them  the  old 
man,  unconscious,  and  apparently  in  a moribund  condition. 
Each  party  had  to  arrange  its  yarnen  expenses  before  a step 
could  be  taken,  and  as  the  case  was  a serious  one,  these  were 
heavy.  The  Magistrate  dared  not  decide  either  way  until  it 
was  seen  whether  the  wounded  recovered.  An  epileptic,  half- 
witted boy  captured  by  one  side,  who  avowed  his  responsibility 
for  the  trouble  (perhaps  scared  nearly  to  death)  was  cruelly 
beaten  till  he  was  half  dead  for  so  doing.  The  matter  dragged 
on  for  a long  time,  and  at  length  was  decided  on  no  principle 
either  of  law  or  of  equity — as  is  the  case  with  so  many  suits — 
each  side  settling  its  own  debts,  and  neither  side  winning.  The 
village  attacked  had  squandered  at  the  yamen  300  strings  of 
cash,  and  the  attacking  party  500  ! The  old  man  at  last  re- 
covered, and  peace  reigned  in  Warsaw  and  its  suburbs. 

Now  what  was  the  motive  for  all  this  ? Was  there  a feud  be- 
tween these  villages  ? By  no  means,  but  exceptional  amity, 
six  or  eight  families  being  connected  by  marriage.  Was  there 
any  special  provocation  ? None  whatever  ; all  comprehensible 
motives  led  to  a continuance  of  peace,  but  war  and  bloodshed 
followed  just  the  same.  Much  may  be  accounted  for  by 
Chinese  passion,  but  how  can  passion  be  suddenly  made  out  of 
nothing  ? It  is  the  current  fashion  to  explain  all  phenomena, 
celestial  and  terrestrial,  in  terms  of  the  development  theory. 
Given  heredity,  education  and  environment  and  you  have  the 
man,  and  society.  But  it  is  questionable  whether  this  classifi- 
cation is  as  exhaustive  as  it  seems.  At  times  another  factor  ap- 
pears to  be  required.  It  is  what  Edgar  Poe  called  the  Imp  of 
the  Perverse. 


XVIII 


VILLAGE  WEDDINGS  AND  FUNERALS 

f I "'HE  Chinese  share  with  the  rest  of  the  human  race  a desire 
to  make  a marriage  ceremony  an  occasion  of  joy.  One 
of  the  most  frequent  periphrases  for  a wedding,  is  the  expression 
“joyful  event.”  It  is  in  China  preeminently  true  that  the 
highest  forms  of  “joy,”  find  expression  in  eating.  While 
marriage  feasts  are  no  doubt  to  be  found  in  all  lands  at  all 
times,  they  are  especially  Oriental,  and  are  characteristic  of  the 
Chinese. 

Owing  to  the  extent  and  the  intricate  ramifications  of  Chinese 
relationships,  the  number  of  persons  who  must  be  invited  to  a 
wedding  is  very  large.  In  some  regions  it  is  customary  for 
women  only  to  contribute  a “share”  ( fen-tzu ) to  a wedding, 
while  the  men  give  a present  at  that  part  of  the  ceremony  when 
the  bridegroom  salutes  the  guests  in  turn  with  a prostration. 
As  the  name  of  each  guest  is  called  to  be  thus  honoured,  he 
hands  over  the  amount  of  his  offering.  But  in  other  places 
men  and  women  contribute  in  the  same  way.  Of  two  things, 
however,  one  may  be  confident ; that  nearly  all  those  invited 
will  be  present  either  in  person  or  by  a representative ; and  that 
nearly  every  woman  will  be  accompanied  by  children,  who  con- 
tribute nothing  to  the  revenues,  but  add  enormously  to  the 
expenses. 

Marriage  customs  in  China  certainly  vary  widely,  but  of  such 
a thing  as  being  present  at  “the  ceremony,”  but  not  at  “the 
wedding  breakfast,”  we  have  never  heard.  Indeed,  it  can 
scarcely  be  said  that,  in  our  sense  of  the  word,  there  is  any 
“ceremony.”  Whatever  may  be  added  or  subtracted  from  the 
performances,  the  essence  of  a Chinese  wedding  seems  to  con- 

179 


i8o 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


sist  in  the  arrival  of  the  bride  at  her  future  home.  The  “ feast  ” 
is  the  main  feature  of  the  occasion.  Sometimes  the  relatives 
are  not  invited  at  all  upon  the  wedding  day,  but  at  a subse- 
quent one ; yet  it  is  not  the  less  true  that  when  the  guests  do 
come,  the  “ feast  ” is  the  centre  and  soul  of  the  occasion. 

If  there  is  anything  which  the  Chinese  have  reduced  to  an 
exact  science,  it  is  the  business  of  eating.  The  sign  of  real 
friendship  is  to  invite  a man  to  a meal,  and  it  is  a proverbial 
saying  that  he  who  comes  bearing  a vessel  of  wine  on  his 
shoulder  and  leading  a sheep,  is  the  truly  hospitable  man,  for 
he  shows  by  his  acts  that  his  invitation  is  a real  one.  The 
great  mass  of  the  Chinese  spend  their  days  in  a condition  which 
is  very  remote  from  affluence,  but  the  expenses  of  weddings  and 
funerals  in  the  mere  matter  of  eating,  are  such  as  must,  from 
the  extent  of  such  expenses  and  the  frequency  of  the  occasions 
upon  which  they  are  required,  reduce  any  but  a very  affluent 
family  to  utter  poverty. 

Under  the  pressure  of  these  inexorable  circumstances,  the 
Chinese  have  long  ago  hit  upon  an  application  of  the  share 
principle,  by  means  of  which  wedding  and  funeral  feasts  be- 
come quite  practicable,  which  would  otherwise  remain  an  utter 
impossibility.  It  can  seldom  be  known  with  certainty  how 
many  guests  will  attend  a wedding,  or  funeral,  but  the  provision 
must  be  made  upon  the  basis  of  the  largest  number  likely  to 
appear.  Each  guest,  or  rather  each  family,  is  not  only  ex- 
pected, but  by  a rigid  code  of  social  etiquette  required,  as 
already  mentioned,  to  contribute  to  the  expenses  of  the  occa- 
sion by  a “share.”  This  will  sometimes  be  in  food,  but  the 
general  practice  is  to  bring  money,  according  to  a scale  which 
is  perfectly  understood  by  every  one.  The  amount  varies 
greatly  in  different  places,  from  a trifling  sum  of  the  value  of 
about  five  or  six  cents  up  to  a quarter  of  a dollar  or  more,  ac- 
cording to  the  degree  of  intimacy  between  the  persons,  and  the 
ability  of  the  guests  to  contribute.  In  some  parts  of  China, 
the  ordinary  amount  taken  to  such  a feast  seems  to  be  twice  as 


VILLAGE  WEDDINGS  AND  FUNERALS  181 

great  as  in  others.  Sometimes  the  standard  is  so  well  under- 
stood, that  the  phrase  “a  share”  has  a local  meaning  as  defi- 
nite as  if,  for  example,  the  sum  of  250  cash  were  expressly 
named. 

In  some  places  while  the  rate  of  “a  share  ” for  a funeral  is 
250  cash,  that  for  a wedding  is  just  double.  This  is  because 
the  food  at  a funeral  is  “plain  ” (sti),  while  that  for  the  wed- 
ding is  of  meat  (hun)  and  much  more  expensive.  It  is  not 
uncommon  to  find  that  “a  share”  for  a person  who  comes 
from  another  city  or  district  is  two  or  three  times  that  of  a na- 
tive of  the  place  where  the  feast  is  given.  To  give  only  the  same 
as  a native  would  do  would  be  considered  for  the  person  from 
a distance  as  a loss  of  “face ” ! 

It  is  a characteristic  example  of  Chinese  procedure  that  the 
sums  contributed  upon  occasions  of  this  sort  are  in  reality  sel- 
dom what  they  profess  to  be.  If  local  custom  considers  ninety- 
eight  or  ninety-six  cash  as  a hundred,  the  temptation  to  put  in 
a less  number  as  a contribution  is  generally  too  strong  to  be  re- 
sisted ; the  more  so  as  in  the  confusion  of  receiving  the  numer- 
ous amounts,  it  is  generally  difficult  to  tell  which  particular 
string  of  cash  was  sent  in  by  which  persons,  although  the 
amounts  are  all  entered  in  an  “account,”  to  be  presently 
noticed. 

Those  householders  who  are  very  anxious  to  keep  exact  track 
of  the  relative  honesty  of  the  respective  contributors,  sometimes 
do  so  by  having  ready  a long  cord  to  which  each  successive 
sum  of  cash  is  tied  by  its  string,  after  the  sum  is  entered  on  the 
account.  When  the  proceedings  are  ended,  it  will  then  be 
possible  for  the  master  of  the  house  to  go  over  the  multitudinous 
strings  of  cash,  ascertaining  how  much  each  one  is  short,  and 
tracing  it  to  its  donor  by  its  place  on  the  cord,  corresponding 
to  the  order  of  entry  in  the  account-book.  But  this  plan  is  not 
regarded  with  favour  by  the  guests,  and  is  not  generally 
adopted,  because  it  makes  so  much  trouble.  The  advantage 
of  it  is  that  it  enables  the  householder  to  pay  off  the  debt  to 


182 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


the  family  which  gave  short  cash,  at  exactly  the  same  rate, 
whenever  they  invite  him  to  a wedding  or  a funeral.  In  some 
places  it  is  well  understood  that  though  each  guest  contributes 
“a  share”  of  250  cash,  it  will  take  five  “shares”  to  make 
1,000,  since  every  “hundred  cash  ” is  in  reality  only  eighty. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  committee  which  looks  after  the 
finances,  to  take  charge  of  all  sums  which  may  be  brought  by 
the  guests,  and  to  keep  a record  of  the  amount  paid  by  each. 
This  is  a matter  of  great  importance,  as  every  such  contribution 
occupies  the  double  position  of  a repayment  of  some  similar 
gift  to  the  family  of  the  giver,  by  the  family  which  now  re- 
ceives the  gift,  and  also  of  a precursor  of  similar  return  gifts  in 
time  to  come.  The  amount  which  is  sent  by  each  person  will 
depend  upon  the  relations  existing  between  the  families,  and 
especially  upon  the  amount  received  by  them  on  some  former 
similar  occasion.  To  disregard  the  unwritten  code  which  de- 
mands from  guests  proportional  contributions,  is  regarded  as  a 
grave  offence  against  decorum,  because  of  its  serious  conse- 
quences to  the  family  concerned,  in  diminishing  their  receipts. 

To  attend  a feast,  but  not  to  bring  any  contribution,  either  in 
money  or  in  kind,  seems  to  be  practically  unknown,  though  it 
constantly  happens  that  the  quantity  of  food  which  on  certain 
occasions  may  be  substituted  for  money,  is  less  than  half  of 
what  is  eaten  by  the  donor.  This  is  especially  the  case  when 
the  giver  is  a woman,  who,  as  already  mentioned,  is  likely  to 
bring  one  or  more  voracious  children,  who  must  be  pacified  by 
food  at  every  stage  of  the  performances,  their  capacities  being 
apparently  absolutely  unlimited. 

In  cities  and  large  towns,  the  business  of  managing  a wed- 
ding or  a funeral  feast,  is  conducted  much  as  it  would  be  in 
any  country  of  the  West.  A food  shop  contracts  to  deliver  so 
many  bowls  of  food  of  a definite  quality  and  at  a fixed  price. 
Provision  is  also  made  for  additional  supplies  should  the  num- 
ber of  guests  be  unexpectedly  great.  But  if  the  feast  is  to  be 
on  a large  scale,  it  is  not  unlikely  that  the  cooking  will  be  done 


VILLAGE  WEDDINGS  AND  FUNERALS  183 

on  the  premises  by  the  professional  caterers.  It  is  usual  to 
speak  of  an  affair  of  this  sort  as  embracing  so  many  “feasts," 
a “feast”  denoting  not  a single  individual,  as  might  be  sup- 
posed, but  the  number  who  can  sit  at  one  table.  This  number, 
like  everything  Chinese,  varies  in  different  places.  Sometimes 
it  is  eight,  and  the  phrase,  “eight  fairy  table  ” is  the  common 
designation  of  the  articles  of  furniture  required  for  the  pur- 
pose. 

In  other  regions,  while  all  the  tables  are  of  the  same  size  and 
shape  as  these,  one  side  is  left  open  for  convenience  in  passing 
the  food,  and  a “feast  ” signifies  six  persons  only.  When  the 
feasts  are  provided  by  contract,  the  establishment  also  furnishes 
waiters,  who  convey  the  food  to  the  guests,  and  to  these  waiters 
a small  gratuity  is  given  at  the  close. 

The  number  of  families  who  are  within  reach  of  facilities 
such  as  these,  is  but  a small  proportion  of  those  who  are 
obliged  to  arrange  for  feasts  at  weddings  and  funerals.  For 
those  to  whom  no  such  resource  is  open,  there  is  no  other  way 
but  to  put  the  matter  into  the  hands  of  certain  experts,  of  great 
experience  in  such  matters — a class  of  persons  to  be  found 
everywhere.  Every  village  or  group  of  villages  can  furnish  a 
professional  cook,  who  devotes  much  of  his  time  to  the  conduct 
of  affairs  of  this  sort.  If  he  is  a man  of  wide  reputation,  and 
employed  by  rich  families,  he  will  have  a number  of  assistants 
who  work  under  his  direction,  all  of  whom  at  the  close  of  the 
feast  will  be  rewarded  with  suitable  gratuities. 

The  staff  of  persons  into  whose  hands  the  business  of  arrang- 
ing for  a feast  is  committed,  is  divided  into  three  departments 
or  committees,  the  Stewards  ( chih-fang ),  the  Culinary  Depart- 
ment (ch‘u-fang),  and  Finance  Department  ( chatig-fang ). 
Each  of  them  is  a check  upon  the  other  two,  although  in  the 
smaller  and  less  expensive  affairs  all  three  will  naturally  run  to- 
gether and  be  merged  in  a single  head.  The  Stewards  pur- 
chase such  supplies  as  are  supposed  to  be  necessary,  embracing 
the  best  which  the  local  market  affords. 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


184 

In  the  northern  part  of  China,  the  two  items  which  prove 
the  most  expensive  are  wheaten  bread-cakes  (ma?i-t‘ou)  and 
wine.  If  the  accommodation  of  the  dwelling  admit  of  it,  the 
articles  which  have  been  bought  for  the  feast  are  placed  in  a 
separate  apartment,  under  the  exclusive  charge  of  one  of  the 
stewards,  by  whose  order  alone  can  anything  be  paid  out  to 
the  kitchen,  on  demand  of  the  head  cook.  But  in  practice  it 
is  found  that  at  this  point  there  is  always  a serious  leak,  for 
many  of  the  relatives  and  neighbours  of  the  family  which  is  to 
have  the  feast,  will  send  over  their  children  to  the  storeroom 
to  “borrow”  a few  bread-cakes,  or  a few  cups  of  wine.  For 
a steward  to  refuse  (as  a foreigner  would  be  likely  to  do),  is  to 
incur  the  ill-will  of  the  family  which  wishes  to  “ borrow,”  and 
the  only  advantage  to  the  steward  would  be  that  he  would  be 
reviled,  which  no  Chinese  relishes.  As  a matter  of  practice 
therefore,  it  is  customary  to  “give  to  him  that  asketh,”  and 
from  him  that  would  “ borrow  ” not  to  turn  away,  even  though, 
as  the  old  English  saying  runs,  “Broad  thongs  are  cut  out  of 
other  people’s  leather.” 

It  not  infrequently  happens  that  the  stewards  who  are  in 
charge  of  the  entertainment  are  smokers  of  opium,  in  which 
case  the  expenses  are  sure  to  be  much  heavier  than  otherwise. 
It  has  also  come  to  be  a custom  in  some  regions,  to  furnish 
opium  to  the  guests  at  weddings,  and  this  may  become  an  item 
of  a very  elastic  nature.  Besides  this,  a man  who  smokes 
opium  is  naturally  incapacitated  from  taking  even  ordinary  care 
of  the  stores  under  his  charge.  If  he  is  himself  a smoker,  and 
if  opium  is  one  of  the  articles  provided  for  the  occasion,  it  will 
not  be  strange  if  all  his  opium-smoking  comrades  embrace  the 
opportunity  to  visit  him,  when  they  must  be  invited  to  take  a 
pipe — of  course  at  the  expense  of  the  master  of  ceremonies. 

The  disappearance  of  wine  and  bread-cakes,  on  occasions  of 
this  sort,  even  before  a single  bowl  of  food  has  been  set  before 
a guest,  suggests  the  evaporation  of  water  on  a hot  summer 
day.  It  was  reported  to  the  writer,  that  on  the  occasion  of  a 


VILLAGE  WEDDINGS  AND  FUNERALS 


185 


funeral  in  a neighbour’s  family,  about  sixty  catties  of  wine  van- 
ished, without  leaving  behind  any  trace  of  its  devious  course. 

The  reason  for  such  occurrences,  which  are  of  universal 
notoriety,  is  not  that  the  stewards  are  not  able  to  do  that  which 
they  are  set  to  do,  nor  is  the  explanation  necessarily  to  be  found 
in  their  indifference  to  the  interests  of  the  host.  The  real  seat  of 
the  difficulty  is,  that  every  family  sufficiently  well-to-do  to  have 
a large  feast  is  surrounded  with  a swarm  of  poor  relatives,  who 
have  no  other  opportunities  than  these  to  make  their  connection 
of  any  service  to  themselves,  and  who  on  such  occasions  are 
determined  not  to  be  ignored.  A poor  family  of  the  same  sur- 
name as  the  host  will  stand  at  the  door  of  the  mansion  where  a 
great  feast  is  in  preparation,  with  bowls  in  hand,  demanding 
that  a share  of  the  good  things  in  course  of  being  served  shall 
be  apportioned  to  them.  Even  if  the  master  of  the  house 
should  absolutely  refuse  his  consent,  and  if  the  stewards  should 
follow  his  directions  and  give  nothing,  it  would  be  of  no  avail, 
for  the  poor  family  would  raise  such  an  uproar  as  practically  to 
prevent  further  proceedings,  and  all  the  guests  would  take  the 
part  of  the  poor  relatives,  exhorting  the  host  to  give  them  what 
they  asked. 

The  habit  of  levying  tribute  upon  those  who  happen  to  be  in 
a position  to  pay  it,  is,  as  already  remarked,  deeply  rooted  in 
Chinese  life.  To  what  this  practice  leads,  may  be  seen  in  the 
extreme  cases  of  which  one  now  and  then  hears,  such  as  the 
following,  detailed  to  the  writer  by  the  principal  sufferer.  A 
man  had  a dispute  with  one  of  his  uncles  about  a tree,  the  value 
of  which  did  not  amount  to  more  than  a dollar.  As  he  was  a 
person  without  force  of  character,  and  unable  to  get  his  rights, 
he  was  obliged  to  “eat  loss.”  This  enraged  his  wife  to  such 
an  extent  that  she  hung  herself.  It  was  now  open  to  her  hus- 
band to  bring  a suit  at  law,  accusing  the  other  party  of  “ har- 
rying to  death”  (//  ssli ) the  deceased  wife.  Perhaps  this  would 
have  been  the  best  plan  for  the  injured  husband,  but  “peace- 
talkers  ” persuaded  him  to  compromise  the  matter  for  a money 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


186 

payment.  The  other  party  had  a powerful  advocate  in  a rela- 
tive who  was  a notorious  blackleg,  expert  in  lawsuits,  and  who 
freely  gave  his  advice.  Even  under  these  advantages,  the  mid- 
dlemen into  whose  hands  the  matter  was  put,  decided  that  the 
uncle  should  pay  30,000  cash  to  the  family  of  the  woman,  as 
a contribution  to  the  funeral,  which  was  done. 

It  is  not  usual  to  make  much  parade  over  the  funerals  of  sui- 
cides, unless  the  sum  to  be  expended  is  exacted  from  those  who 
are  supposed  to  have  impelled  to  the  suicide.  In  this  instance, 
half  the  amount  paid  would  have  been  amply  sufficient  for  the 
funeral  and  for  all  its  expenses.  The  “ family  friends  ” of  the 
husband,  uncles,  cousins,  nephews,  etc.,  took  charge  of  the 
proceedings,  which  they  contrived  to  drag  out  for  more  than  a 
week,  and  when  the  funeral  was  over,  the  husband,  whose 
crops  had  been  that  year  totally  destroyed  by  floods,  ascertained 
that  these  “ family  friends  ” had  not  only  made  away  with  the 
30,000  cash  awarded  as  a fine,  but  that  he  was  saddled  with  a 
debt  of  immediate  urgency  amounting  to  20,000  more  for 
bread-cakes  and  wine,  which  had  been  consumed  (as  alleged) 
by  the  “family  friends”  during  the  protracted  negotiations. 
No  clear  accounts  of  the  expenditure  were  to  be  had,  and  the 
only  thing  of  which  the  poor  husband  was  sure,  was  that  he 
was  practically  ruined  by  his  “ family  friends.” 

It  is  always  taken  for  granted  by  the  Chinese,  that  any  family 
rich  enough  to  spend  a large  amount  of  money  on  the  funeral 
of  a parent,  will  be  mercilessly  pillaged  on  that  particular  occa- 
sion. The  reason  for  this  is  that,  at  such  a time,  the  master  of 
the  house  is  (theoretically)  overcome  by  grief,  and  ordinary 
propriety  requires  that  he  himself  should  take  no  part  in  the 
management  of  affairs,  but  should  give  his  exclusive  attention 
to  the  mourning  rites.  Even  though  he  clearly  perceives  that 
everything  is  going  wrong,  he  must  act  as  if  he  were  blind  and 
deaf,  and  also  dumb.  Long  practice  has  made  the  Chinese 
very  expert  in  such  an  accomplishment,  which,  it  is  needless  to 
say,  for  an  Occidental  would  be  difficult,  not  to  say  impossible. 


VILLAGE  IVEDDINGS  AND  FUNERALS 


187 


If  the  householder  is  a man  for  any  reason  generally  unpopular, 
his  disadvantages  will  be  greatly  increased,  as  is  illustrated  by 
the  following  case,  narrated  to  the  writer  by  a man  who  lived 
within  two  miles  of  the  village  in  which  the  event  occurred. 

A wealthy  man  lost  his  father,  and  made  preparations  for  an 
expensive  funeral.  He  took  a hundred  strings  of  cash  in  a 
large  farm-cart,  and  went  to  a market  to  buy  swine  to  be 
slaughtered  for  the  feast.  On  the  way  he  was  waylaid  by  a 
party  of  his  own  relatives,  and  robbed  of  all  the  money,  in 
such  a way  as  to  render  recovery  of  it  hopeless.  Having  after- 
ward bought  four  swine  and  an  ox  (a  most  generous  provision 
for  the  feast),  the  arrangements  were  put  into  the  hands  of 
managers  ( tsung-li ) as  usual.  These  persons  found  themselves 
wholly  unable  to  restrain  the  raids  made  upon  the  stores  by 
“friends,”  neighbours  and  others,  and  the  night  before  the 
funeral  was  to  occur,  thieves  broke  into  the  storeroom  and 
carried  off  every  scrap  of  meat,  leaving  nothing  whatever  for 
the  feast.  The  managers  were  frightened  and  ran  away.  The 
feast  was  of  necessity  had  with  nothing  but  vegetables  and  was 
of  a sort  to  bring  the  householder  into  disgrace.  As  a result 
he  was  afraid  to  try  to  have  any  more  funerals,  and  there  are 
at  present  on  his  premises  two  unburied  coffins  awaiting  sepul- 
ture, perhaps  by  the  next  generation. 

As  soon  as  the  “ shares  ” have  all  been  sent  in  and  reckoned 
up,  it  is  known  how  much  the  host  is  out  of  pocket  by  the  af- 
fair, and  this  information  is  so  far  from  being  private  that  it  is 
sometimes  at  once  announced  to  the  guests,  and  if  the  amount 
is  a large  one  the  host  gets  credit  for  doing  business  on  an  ex- 
tensive scale,  regardless  of  expense.  This  gives  him  a certain 
amount  of  honour  among  his  neighbours,  and  honour  of  a kind 
which  is  particularly  prized.  Among  poor  families,  where 
“face”  is  of  much  less  consequence  than  cash,  it  is  not  un- 
common to  find  the  feasts  on  a scale  of  such  extreme  economy 
that  the  cost  is  very  trifling,  although  the  “shares”  are  as 
great  as  at  much  better  entertainments.  It  occasionally  hap- 


1 88 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


pens  that  a family  is  able  to  reduce  the  expenses  so  that  the 
contributions  are  large  enough  to  cover  them,  and  even  to  leave 
a margin.  A man  who  has  carried  through  an  enterprise  of 
this  sort  is  regarded  as  worthy  of  a certain  admiration ; and 
not  without  reason,  for  the  feat  implies  generalship  of  no  mean 
order. 

Another  illustration  of  the  application  of  cooperative  princi- 
ples is  found  in  the  organization  of  the  men  of  a village  into 
details,  or  reliefs,  as  bearers  of  the  catafalque  of  a specified 
size,  each  having  its  own  leader.  Whenever  a funeral  is  to 
take  place,  notice  is  sent  to  the  head  of  the  division  whose  turn 
it  is  to  serve,  and  he  calls  upon  the  men  of  his  detail  in  a regu- 
lar order.  If  any  one  is  not  on  hand  to  take  his  turn,  he  is 
subjected  to  a fine. 

In  country  districts,  the  funeral  catafalque,  with  its  tremen- 
dous array  of  lacquered  poles  upon  which  it  is  borne,  is  often 
the  property  of  a certain  number  of  individuals,  who  are  also 
ordinary  farmers.  On  being  summoned  to  take  charge  of  a 
funeral,  they  often  perform  the  service  gratuitously  for  people 
living  in  their  own  village,  but  charging  a definite  sum  for  the 
rent  of  the  materials,  which  sometimes  represent  a considerable 
capital.  Wedding  chairs  are  often  owned  and  managed  in  the 
same  way,  of  which  the  advantage  is  that  an  investment  which 
it  is  so  desirable  for  the  community  to  have  made,  and  which 
is  too  large  for  an  individual,  is  made  by  a company,  the  mem- 
bers of  which  receive  a small  dividend  on  its  cash  outlay,  and 
an  acknowledgment  in  food,  presents,  etc.,  of  the  manual  la- 
bour involved  in  serving  those  who  invite  their  aid. 

The  principle  is  capable  of  indefinite  expansion.  The  writer 
once  lived  in  a Chinese  village,  where  there  was  a “ Bowl  As- 
sociation,” owning  ioo  or  200  bowls  which  were  rented  to 
those  who  had  occasion  for  a feast,  at  such  a rate  as  to  be  re- 
munerative to  the  owners,  and  at  the  same  time  more  econom- 
ical to  the  householder  than  the  purchase  of  a great  number  of 
dishes  for  which  on  ordinary  occasions  he  would  have  no  use. 


A Bridal  Pair.  Temporary  Funeral  Pavilion. 


VILLAGE  WEDDINGS  AND  FUNERALS 


189 


Societies  for  the  assistance  of  those  who  have  funerals  are  of 
common  occurrence,  and  are  of  many  different  kinds.  There 
is  special  reason  for  the  organization  of  such  leagues  (called 
pai-she),  since,  while  weddings  may  be  postponed  until  suitable 
arrangements  can  be  made,  it  is  generally  difficult,  and  some- 
times impossible,  to  do  the  same  with  a funeral. 

Sometimes  each  family  belonging  to  the  league  pays  into  the 
common  fund  a monthly  subscription  of  100  cash  a month. 
Each  family  so  contributing  is  entitled  upon  occasion  of  the 
death  of  an  adult  member  of  the  family  (or  perhaps  the  older 
generation  only)  to  draw  from  this  fund,  say,  6,000  cash,  to  be 
used  in  defraying  the  expenses.  If  there  is  not  so  much  money 
in  the  treasury  as  is  called  for  by  deaths  in  families  of  the  mem- 
bers, the  deficiency  is  made  up  by  special  taxes  upon  each 
member.  According  to  a plan  of  this  sort,  a subscriber  who 
drew  out  nothing  for  five  years  would  have  contributed  the  full 
amount  to  which  he  is  entitled,  without  receiving  anything  in 
return.  A mutual  insurance  company  of  this  nature  is  prob- 
ably entered  into  on  account  of  the  serious  difficulty  which 
most  Chinese  families  experience  in  getting  together  ready 
money.  From  a financial  point  of  view  there  may  be  nothing 
saved  by  the  contribution,  but  practically  it  is  found  to  be 
easier  to  raise  100  cash  every  month,  than  to  get  together  6,000 
cash  at  any  one  time. 

Another  form  of  mutual  assistance  in  the  expenses  of  funerals 
is  the  following : A man  whose  parents  are  well  advanced  in 

life  knows  that  he  may  at  any  time  be  called  upon  to  spend 
upon  the  ceremonies  at  their  death  an  amount  which  it  will  be 
difficult  to  raise.  He  therefore  “ invites  an  association  ” (ch‘ing 
hui),  each  member  of  which  is  under  obligation  upon  occasion 
of  the  death  of  a parent  to  contribute  a fixed  sum,  say  2,000 
cash.  The  membership  will  thus  be  composed  exclusively  of 
those  who  have  aged  parents.  The  number  of  names  may  be 
forty,  which  would  result,  whenever  a call  shall  be  made,  in  the 
accumulation  of  80,000  cash.  With  this  sum  a showy  funeral 


190 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


can  be  paid  for.  It  is  customary  to  provide  in  the  document 
which  each  signs,  and  which  is  deposited  with  the  organizer  of 
the  association,  that  the  funeral  shall  be  conducted  on  a speci- 
fied scale  of  expense,  nor  can  the  funds  be  diverted  to  any 
other  use  than  for  a funeral. 

Whenever  a member  wishes  for  his  own  use  to  make  a call 
for  the  quota  from  each  member,  he  must  previously  find  two 
bondsmen,  who  will  be  surety  for  him  that  he  will  continue  to 
pay  his  share  on  demand,  otherwise  the  other  subscribers  might 
be  left  in  the  lurch.  Only  those  known  to  be  able  to  meet  their 
assessments  would  be  likely  to  be  invited  to  join  such  an  asso- 
ciation, and  if  for  any  reason  a member  should  fail  to  furnish 
his  quota,  he  would  be  heavily  fined. 

At  each  funeral,  all  the  subscribers  to  the  funeral  fund  are 
present  ex  officio , and  it  is  not  necessary  for  them  to  contribute 
any  other  share  than  that  represented  by  the  2,000  cash  of  the 
assessment.  Each  member  of  the  association  appears  in  mourn- 
ing costume,  and  wailing  as  would  become  a near  relative  of  the 
deceased.  The  presence  of  so  large  a number  of  mourners  in 
addition  to  those  really  near  of  kin,  gives  a great  deal  of  “ face  ” 
to  the  individual  whose  parent  has  died,  and  this  is  perhaps 
quite  as  attractive  a feature  of  the  arrangement  as  the  financial 
assistance. 

If  it  should  happen  that  for  a long  time  no  one  dies  in  the 
families  of  any  subscribers  to  the  funeral  fund,  it  may  be 
thought  best  to  summon  the  members  to  a feast,  at  which  the 
project  is  broached  of  making  a call  for  a share  to  be  used  for 
a wedding,  or  some  other  purpose  outside  of  the  constitutional 
limits  of  the  society.  In  any  arrangement  of  this  nature  the 
feast  is  an  indispensable  concomitant  of  the  proceedings. 
Without  it  nothing  can  begin,  and  without  it  nothing  can  end. 

Associations  of  this  nature  are  much  more  common  in  con- 
nection with  funerals  than  with  weddings,  yet  they  are  not  un- 
known for  the  latter  purpose.  A family,  for  example,  wishes 
to  marry  a son  on  a scale  which  the  family  resources  will  not 


VILLAGE  WEDDINGS  AND  FUNERALS  191 

warrant.  It  then  resorts  to  an  expedient,  which  is  called 
“ drawing  friends  by  means  of  other  friends.”  Let  us  suppose 
that  it  is  desired  to  raise  the  sum  of  100,000  cash.  A hundred 
cards  of  invitation  are  prepared,  ten  of  which  are  sent  to  ten 
friends  of  the  family,  who  are  invited  to  a preliminary  feast. 
These  friends  receive  the  extra  cards  of  invitation,  and  each 
one  gives  a card  to  nine  other  “ friends  ” of  his  own,  who  agree 
to  attend  the  wedding  in  question,  each  one  bringing  with  him 
as  a share  a string  of  cash.  By  this  means  a family  with  little 
wealth  and  few  connections  is  able  suddenly  to  blossom  out  at 
a wedding  with  a hundred  guests  (many  of  whom  nobody 
knows),  and  all  expenses  are  provided  for  by  the  liberal  contri- 
bution of  the  “friends,”  and  of  the  friends  of  the  “friends.” 

The  only  motive  for  the  act,  on  the  part  of  the  original 
“friends”  is  friendship,  and  the  gustatory  joy  of  the  wedding 
feast.  The  only  motives  for  the  friends  of  the  “friends,”  are 
their  friendship,  and  the  same  joyful  feast.  It  is  needless  to 
observe  that  the  100,000  cash  thus  suddenly  raised  is  a debt, 
which  the  family  receiving  it  must  repay  in  future  contribu- 
tions. 

To  a Westerner,  it  doubtless  appears  a preposterous  proceed- 
ing to  saddle  a family  with  a liability  of  this  sort,  for  the  mere 
sake  of  a temporary  display.  But  love  of  display  is  by  no  means 
confined  to  the  Chinese,  although  doubtless  they  are  satisfied 
with  manifestations  of  it  which  to  us  are  far  from  being  attract- 
ive. It  is  a characteristic  in  the  Chinese  conduct  of  affairs,  to 
make  heavy  drafts  on  the  future  in  order  to  satisfy  a present 
need.  Many  a family  will  sell  all  their  land,  and  even  pull  down 
their  house,  to  provide  for  a funeral  of  a parent,  because  to 
bury  the  deceased  without  a suitable  display  would  be  a loss  of 
“face.”  And  this  irrational  procedure  is  executed  with  an  air 
of  cheerfulness  and  of  conscious  virtue,  which  seems  to  say, 
“ Behold  me  ! I will  do  what  is  becoming  at  any  personal  in- 
convenience whatever  ! ” 

The  elaborateness  of  a Chinese  funeral  may  be  roughly  de- 


192 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


termined  in  advance  by  calculating  the  product  of  two  factors, 
the  age  (especially  the  rank  of  the  deceased  by  generations) 
and  the  social  rank  of  the  family.  As  soon  as  a death  occurs 
the  wailing  begins,  and  at  once,  or  possibly  at  sunset,  the  tem- 
ple of  the  local-god  is  visited  to  make  the  announcement  to 
him,  accompanied  with  more  wailing.  Further  exercises  of 
this  sort  take  place  on  “ the  third  day,”  that  is  in  some  regions 
the  next  day,  which  is  held  to  be  to  all  intents  “the  third”  ! 
In  case  of  an  affair  of  great  ceremony  there  will  be  special  per- 
formances on  every  seventh  day  (a  strange  and  apparently 
unique  survival  of  the  hebdominal  division  in  China)  for  seven 
times,  the  funeral  occurring  on  the  forty-ninth  day.  During 
the  whole  of  this  period  there  is  no  quiet  time  for  the  distracted 
family.  Perhaps  both  Buddhist  and  Taoist  priests  are  chant- 
ing their  Sacred  Books  in  extemporized  mat-shed  pavilions  of  a 
tawdry  splendour ; for  it  is  often  considered  safest  in  the  dim 
uncertainty  as  to  the  best  way  to  reach  the  regions  of  the  blest, 
to  take  passage  by  both  of  these  religious  routes.  Excruciating 
music  rends  the  air  from  morn  till  eve,  and  bombs  are  detonat- 
ing at  frequent  intervals  to  terrify  malignant  spirits,  and  to  de- 
light the  swarms  of  village  boys  who  riot  in  ecstasies  during 
the  whole  procedure. 

English-speaking  peoples  have  been  criticised  for  taking  their 
pleasures  sadly.  The  Chinese,  on  the  contrary,  often  contrive 
to  get  through  their  mourning  not  without  considerable  enjoy- 
ment. Under  no  other  mundane  circumstances  is  so  much  to 
be  had  to  eat  on  such  easy  terms.  The  adage  says  truly, 

“ When  old  folks  die,  the  rest  feed  high.” 

The  strain  upon  the  exiguous  resources  of  a single  courtyard 
or  set  of  yards  in  preparing  food  simultaneously  for  the  guests, 
often  numbering  hundreds,  is  very  great;  yet  the  inevitable 
waiting,  the  crowding,  the  turmoil,  and  discomfort  are  all  borne 
without  a tenth  of  the  complaint  and  resentment  which  a tithe 
of  the  same  annoyances  and  provocations  would  probably  cause 


VILLAGE  WEDDINGS  AND  FUNERALS 


193 


the  readers  of  these  lines.  In  China  there  is  no  other  way  to 
bury  the  dead,  and  there  never  has  been  any  other  way.  Cere- 
mony is  the  very  life  of  the  Chinese  race,  and  on  no  other  oc- 
casion is  ceremony  so  triumphantly  tyrannical  as  at  a Chinese 
funeral.  Yet  in  the  most  showy  pageantry  there  is  likely  to  be 
an  element  of  unutterable  shabbiness.  In  city  processions  flags, 
banners,  umbrellas,  screens,  and  handsome  wooden  tablets 
shining  with  lacquer  and  glittering  with  gilt  are  carried  in  great 
numbers  before  and  behind  the  coffin  of  notables,  but  the 
bearers  are  not  infrequently  dirty,  ragged  beggars,  straggling 
along  without  aim  and  without  order.  Little  or  nothing  of  this 
is  to  be  seen  in  the  rural  districts,  but  the  confusion  and  dis- 
orderliness  are  omnipresent  and  inevitable.  There  is  in  the 
Chinese  language  no  word  meaning  solemn,  for  there  is  no  such 
thing  as  solemnity  in  the  Chinese  Empire. 

White  being  the  mourning  colour,  at  a funeral  swarms  of 
people  appear,  some  with  a mere  fillet  about  their  head,  others 
with  square  caps,  and  others  with  a more  abundant  display,  up 
to  those  whose  near  relationship  to  the  deceased  requires  that 
they  be  covered  entirely  with  the  coarse  cloth  which  denotes 
the  deepest  depth  of  mourning,  their  feeble  steps  being  sup- 
ported by  a short  stick  of  willow  upon  which  they  ostentatiously 
lean,  particularly  at  the  numerous  junctures  when  wailing  is  to 
take  place.  Generally  speaking,  the  wearers  of  white  are  those 
who  come  within  the  “ Five  Degrees  of  Relationship  ” (wu  fu), 
that  is,  all  directly  descended  from  one’s  grandfather’s  grand- 
father (the  steps  being  indicated  in  Chinese  by  separate  names 
for  each  generation,  to  wit,  kao,  tseng,  tsu,  fu,  and  shin,  viz., 
three  generations  of  “grandfathers,”  my  father,  and  myself). 
The  family  in  mourning  furnishes  material  for  all  the  cloud  of 
mourners,  but  if  the  married  daughters  are  provided  by  their 
husband’s  family  with  a supply,  this  is  a mark  of  special  honour. 
Sometimes  women  are  seen  proudly  carrying  a huge  bolt  of 
wholly  superfluous  cloth  on  their  arm  all  through  a funeral, 
furnishing  a public  testimonial  that  their  husbands  or  fathers-in- 


194 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


law  have  done  the  correct  thing,  thus  giving  the  daughter-in- 
law  a large  supply  of  “ face.” 

Since  family  graveyards  are  surrounded  by  planted  fields,  if 
a funeral  happens  to  be  held  in  the  spring  or  early  summer,  it 
is  inevitable  that  by  the  trampling  of  so  many  persons  much 
damage  should  be  done  to  growing  crops.  A space  twenty  feet 
wide  or  more  would  be  required  by  the  bearers  of  a catafalque, 
and  if  the  funeral  is  a large  one  it  will  be  followed  all  the  way 
by  a dense  crowd.  The  unhappy  owners  of  adjacent  land 
sometimes  provide  themselves  with  shovels,  and  throw  quanti- 
ties of  earth  into  the  air  so  as  to  fall  on  the  heads  of  the  tres- 
passers on  their  grain,  as  a protest  (like  all  Chinese  protests 
wholly  futile)  against  the  invasion  of  their  rights. 

Angry  words  and  reviling  are  not  infrequent  concomitants  of 
Chinese  funerals,  for  the  provocation  is  often  grievous.  To  in- 
terfere with  a funeral  is  a serious  offence,  but  disputes  some- 
times arise  between  the  participants.  The  writer  once  saw  a 
coffin  left  for  many  days  by  the  side  of  a public  road  because 
the  bearers  of  the  two  coffins  that  were  to  have  been  buried  to- 
gether, differed  as  to  which  set  should  first  leave  the  village, 
the  disagreement  terminating  in  a fight  and  an  angry  lawsuit, 
pending  the  settlement  of  which  the  dead  man  could  not  stir. 

It  is  when  the  almost  interminable  feasts  are  at  last  over,  and 
the  loud  cry  is  raised,  “ Take  up  the  coffin,”  that  the  funeral’s 
climax  has  arrived.  Sixteen  bearers,  or  some  multiple  of  six- 
teen (and  the  more  the  better)  wrestle  with  the  huge  and  un- 
wieldy burden  of  the  ponderous  coffin  and  the  enormous  cata- 
falque supporting  it.  Only  the  bearers  in  the  immediate  front 
can  see  where  they  are  going,  so  that  it  is  necessary  that  a 
funeral  director  take  charge  of  their  motions,  which  he  does  by 
shrill  shouts  in  a falsetto  key  ending  in  a piercing  cry  by  no 
means  unlike  the  scream  of  a catamount.  To  each  of  his  di- 
rective yells  the  whole  chorus  of  bearers  responds  with  shouts 
resembling  those  of  sailors  heaving  an  anchor.  These  cries 
mingled  with  the  ostentatious  wails  of  the  mourners  piled  into 


VILLAGE  WEDDINGS  AND  FUNERALS 


195 


a whole  caravan  of  village  farm-carts,  combine  to  produce  a 
total  effect  as  remote  from  our  conception  of  what  a funeral 
ought  to  be  as  can  easily  be  imagined.  When,  by  a slow  and 
toilful  progress,  the  family  graveyard  has  been  reached,  the 
lowering  of  the  coffin  into  the  grave — sometimes  a huge  circu- 
lar opening — is  the  culminating  point  of  the  many  days  of  ex- 
citement. The  cries  of  the  director  become  shrieks,  the  re- 
sponses are  tumultuous  and  discordant,  every  one  adding  his 
own  emendations  according  to  his  own  point  of  view,  and  no  one 
paying  any  attention  to  any  one  else.  Thus,  amid  the  explosion 
of  more  crackers  and  bombs,  the  fiercer  wails  of  the  mourners, 
the  shouts  of  the  bearers  and  the  grave-diggers,  and  the  buzz 
of  the  curious  spectators,  the  Chinese  is  at  last  laid  away  to  his 
long  rest. 


XIX 


NEW  YEAR  IN  CHINESE  VILLAGES 

TF  the  foreigner  who  has  lived  in  China  long  enough  to  take 
-*■  in  its  external  phenomena,  but  not  long  enough  to  per- 
ceive the  causes  of  them,  were  to  explain  to  one  of  less  knowl- 
edge his  views  as  to  the  leading  features  of  the  change  from  one 
Chinese  year  to  another  as  exhibited  in  the  life  of  the  Chinese, 
he  would  probably  name  (and  with  much  plausibility)  one  or 
more  of  the  following  particulars. 

DUMPLINGS 

The  customs  of  different  parts  of  the  wide  empire  doubt- 
less vary,  but  probably  there  is  no  part  of  it  in  which  either 
dumplings  or  some  similar  article  are  not  inseparably  associated 
with  New  Year’s  Day,  in  the  same  way  as  plum-pudding  with 
an  English  Christmas,  or  roast-turkey  and  mince  pie  with  a 
New  England  Thanksgiving.  As  compared  with  Western  peo- 
ples the  number  of  Chinese  who  are  not  obliged  to  practice 
self-denial  either  in  the  quantity  or  the  quality  of  their  food, 
and  in  both,  is  small.  The  diet  of  the  vast  mass  of  the  nation 
is  systematically  and  necessarily  abstemious.  Even  in  the  case 
of  farmers’  families  who  are  well  enough  off  to  afford  the  year 
round  good  food  in  abundance,  we  do  not  often  see  them  in- 
dulging in  such  luxury.  Or  if  the  males  of  the  elder  genera- 
tion indulge,  the  women  and  children  of  a younger  generation 
are  not  allowed  to  do  so.  Hereditary  economy  in  the  item  of 
food  is  a marked  Chinese  trait.  To  “eat  good  things”  is  a 
common  phrase  denoting  the  occurrence  of  a wedding,  a 
funeral,  or  some  occasion  upon  which  “good  things”  cannot 
be  dispensed  with.  To  eat  cakes  of  ordinary  grain  on  New 

196 


NEIV  YEAR  IN  CHINESE  VILLAGES 


197 


Year’s  Day,  and  not  to  get  any  dumplings  at  all,  is  proverbially 
worse  than  not  to  have  any  New  Year. 

Moreover,  the  keen  joy  with  which  every  member  of  a 
Chinese  family  looks  forward  to  the  dietetic  aspect  of  their 
New  Year,  the  still  keener  joy  with  which  every  member  is 
absorbed  in  devouring  all  he  can  get  of  the  best  there  is  to  be 
got,  and  the  scarcely  less  keen  joy  with  which  each  one  recalls 
the  details  of  the  menu  when  the  family  is  once  more  launched 
upon  the  Sahara  of  ordinary  fare — these  are  full  of  suggestion 
and  instruction  to  Occidentals  who  habitually  have  so  much  to 
eat  that  they  seldom  secure  the  best  sauce  of  gnawing  hunger, 
and  are  more  likely  than  not  to  be  bored  by  being  asked  out  to 
an  elaborate  dinner  with  many  courses.  The  most  robust 
imagination  finds  it  impossible  to  conceive  of  a Chinese  who 
should  take  this  view  of  what  always  appeals  to  the  finest  feel- 
ings of  his  nature.  There  is  therefore  much  reason  in  placing 
Dumplings  in  the  forefront  of  a Chinese  New  Year. 

REUNION 

No  feast-day  in  any  Western  land — the  two  previously  men- 
tioned not  excepted — can  at  all  compare  with  Chinese  New 
Year,  as  regards  powers  of  traction  and  attraction.  We  con- 
sider the  gathering  of  families  on  these  special  occasions  as 
theoretically  desirable,  and  as  practically  useful.  But  we  have 
this  fatal  disadvantage ; our  families  divide  and  disperse,  often 
to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  and  a new  home  is  soon  made. 
Whole  families  cannot  be  transported  long  distances,  especially 
at  inclement  seasons  of  the  year,  even  if  average  dwellings 
would  hold  them  all. 

But  in  China,  the  family  is  already  at  home.  It  is  only  some 
of  its  male  members  who  are  absent,  and  they  return  to  their 
ancestral  abode,  with  the  infallible  instinct  of  the  wild  fowl  to 
their  southern  haunts.  If  vast  distances  should  make  this 
physically  impossible — as  is  the  case  with  the  countless  Shan-hsi 
men  scattered  over  the  empire  doing  business  as  bankers,  pawn- 


198 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


brokers,  etc.,  or  as  happens  with  many  from  the  northern  prov- 
inces who  go  “outside  the  Great  Wall,” — still  the  plan  is  to  go 
home,  perhaps  one  year  in  three,  and  the  time  selected  is  al- 
ways at  the  close  of  the  year. 

A cat  in  a strange  garret,  a bird  with  a broken  wing,  a fish 
out  of  water  are  not  more  restless  and  unhappy  than  the  aver- 
age Chinese  who  cannot  go  home  at  New  Year  time.  In  addi- 
tion to  his  personal  deprivations,  he  has  the  certainty  of  being 
ridiculed  not  only  by  the  persons  with  whom  he  is  obliged  to 
stay,  but  also  by  the  people  of  his  own  village  when  he  does  go 
home.  The  Chinese  dread  ridicule,  even  more  than  they  dread 
the  loss  of  a good  meal,  and  unless  the  circumstances  are  alto- 
gether exceptional,  one  can  depend  upon  it  that  every  Chinese 
can  only  be  kept  away  from  his  home  at  New  Year  by  circum- 
stances over  which  he  has  no  control.  There  is,  therefore, 
good  ground  for  regarding  reunion  as  a leading  feature  of  a 
Chinese  New  Year. 


NEW  CLOTHES 

Whoever  takes  even  a superficial  view  of  the  Chinese  in  their 
towns,  cities  and  villages  during  the  period  from  the  first  day  of 
the  first  moon  to  the  fifteenth  of  the  same,  will  be  struck  with 
the  display  of  new  and  bright-coloured  garments.  Every  article 
of  apparel,  both  of  the  men  and  of  the  women,  and  still  more 
of  the  children,  may  be  of  any  or  all  the  colors  of  the  rain- 
bow. The  Chinese  do  not  seem  to  us  to  be  conspicuous  for 
what  we  call  good  taste,  but  rather  at  times  to  emulate  the 
vagaries  of  the  African  savages,  and  never  more  so  than  at  this 
time  of  holiday  show.  Combinations  of  colour  which  would 
cause  Western  ladies  to  shrug  their  shoulders,  and  to  shiver 
with  horror,  appear  to  recommend  themselves  to  the  Chinese 
taste  as  the  correct  thing,  and  as  good  form.  Bright  green  and 
blue,  accompanied  by  deep  scarlet,  purple,  lilac  or  orange,  do 
not  seem  to  “kill  each  other,”  as  our  modistes  would  shudder- 
ingly  affirm,  but  they  convey  such  evident  and  such  universal 


NEW  YEAR  IN  CHINESE  VILLAGES 


199 


pleasure  to  wearers  and  spectators  alike,  that  it  becomes  plain 
to  the  most  prejudiced  foreigner,  that  here,  at  least,  his  stand- 
ards do  not  apply.  In  consideration  of  the  stress  which  the 
Chinese  lay  upon  this  feature  of  their  great  anniversary,  we 
should  be  justified  in  assuming  fine  clothes  as  a main  character- 
istic of  the  occasion. 


RELIGIOUS  RITES 

The  very  first  aspect  in  which  Chinese  New  Year  presents 
itself,  no  matter  in  what  part  of  the  world  we  happen  to  meet 
it,  is  that  of  noise.  All  night  long,  there  is  a bang  ! bang  ! 
bang ! of  firecrackers  large  and  small,  which,  like  other  ca- 
lamities, “come,  not  single  spies,  but  in  battalions.”  The  root 
of  all  this  is  undoubtedly  connected  with  religion,  as  in  other 
similar  performances  all  over  the  world.  But  though  the  ex- 
plosion of  gunpowder  is  the  most  prominent,  it  is  far  from  being 
the  most  important  act  of  New  Year  worship.  There  is  the 
despatch  of  the  last  year’s  kitchen-god,  generally  on  the  twenty- 
third  of  the  twelfth  moon,  and  the  installation  of  his  successor 
at  the  close  of  the  year.  On  the  last  evening  of  the  year,  there 
is  the  family  gathering  either  at  the  ancestral  temple,  or  should 
there  not  be  one,  in  the  dwelling-house,  for  the  worship  of  the 
tablets  of  the  past  few  generations  of  ancestors.  In  some  parts 
of  China  ancestral  tablets  are  comparatively  rare  among  the 
farming  and  working  people,  and  the  place  of  them  as  regards 
the  practical  worship  at  New  Year’s  eve,  is  taken  by  a large 
scroll,  containing  a portion  of  the  family  genealogy,  which  is 
hung  up,  and  honoured  with  prostrations  and  the  burning  of 
incense.  On  the  morning  of  the  second  day  of  the  new  first 
moon,  perhaps  at  other  times  also,  all  the  males  of  a suitable 
age  go  to  the  family  or  clan  graveyard,  and  there  make  the 
customary  offerings  to  the  spirits  of  the  departed.  There  has 
been  considerable  controversy  among  foreigners  expert  in 
Chinese  affairs  as  to  the  true  value  of  these  various  rites  from 
a religious  point  of  view,  but  there  is  no  doubt  on  the  part  of 


200 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


any  one  that  they  constitute  a most  essential  ingredient  in  a 
Chinese  New  Year,  and  that  in  the  present  temper  of  the 
Chinese  race,  a New  Year  without  such  rites  is  both  incon- 
ceivable and  impossible.  We  do  well,  therefore,  to  place  Re- 
ligious Rites  prominently  in  our  catalogue. 

SOCIAL  CEREMONIES 

It  requires  but  a slight  acquaintance  with  the  facts,  however, 
to  make  us  aware  that  while  the  ceremonies  connected  with 
the  dead  are  important,  they  are  soon  disposed  of  once  for  all, 
and  that  they  do  not  form  a part  of  the  permanent  New  Year 
landscape.  It  is  quite  otherwise  with  the  social  ceremonies 
connected  with  the  living.  The  practice  of  New  Year  calls,  as 
found  in  some  Western  lands  is  a very  feeble  parody  of  the 
Chinese  usage.  We  call  on  whom  we  choose  to  call  upon, 
when  we  choose  to  go.  The  Chinese  pays  his  respects  to  those 
to  whom  he  must  pay  his  respects,  at  the  time  when  it  is  his 
duty  so  to  do  and  from  this  duty  there  is  seldom  any  reprieve. 
For  example,  not  to  press  into  undue  prominence  local  prac- 
tices, which  vary  greatly,  it  may  be  the  fashion  for  every  one 
to  be  up  long  before  daylight.  After  the  family  salutations 
have  been  concluded,  all  but  the  older  generation  of  males  set 
out  to  make  the  tour  of  the  village,  the  representatives  of  each 
family  entering  the  yard  of  every  other  family,  and  prostrating 
themselves  to  the  elders  who  are  at  home  to  receive  them.  This 
business  goes  by  priority  in  the  genealogical  table,  as  military 
and  naval  officers  take  rank  from  the  date  of  their  commissions. 
Early  marriages  on  the  part  of  some  members  of  a collateral 
branch  of  a large  clan,  late  marriages  on  the  part  of  other 
branches,  the  adoption  of  heirs  at  any  point,  and  other  causes, 
constantly  bring  it  about  that  the  men  oldest  in  years  are  by 
no  means  so  in  the  order  of  the  generation  to  which  they  be- 
long. Thus  we  have  the  absurd  spectacle  of  a man  of  seventy 
posing  as  a “nephew” — or,  if  worst  comes  to  worst — as  the 
“ grandson  ” of  a mere  boy.  One  often  hears  a man  in  middle 


NEW  YEAR  IN  CHINESE  VILLAGES 


201 


life  complain  of  the  fatigues  of  the  New  Year  time,  as  he  being 
of  a “ late  generation,”  is  obliged  “ to  kotow  to  every  child  two 
feet  long  ” whom  he  may  happen  to  meet,  as  they  are  “ older  ” 
than  he,  and  in  consequence  of  this  inversion  of  “relative 
duties,”  the  children  are  fresh  as  a rose,  while  the  middle-aged 
man  has  lame  knees  for  a week  or  two  ! 

If  the  first  day  is  devoted  to  one’s  native  town  or  village,  the 
succeeding  ones  are  taken  to  pay  calls  of  ceremony  upon  one’s 
relatives  living  in  other  towns  or  villages,  beginning  with  the 
mother’s  family,  and  branching  into  relationships  the  names  of 
which  few  foreigners  can  remember,  and  which  most  cannot 
even  comprehend.  That  all  this  social  ceremony  is  upon  the 
whole  a good  thing  cannot  be  doubted,  for  it  prevents  many 
alienations,  and  heals  in  their  early  stages  many  cases  of 
strained  relations.  Yet,  to  us  such  a formal  and  monotonous 
routine  would  prove  insufferable. 

To  the  Chinese,  these  visits  are  not  only  an  important  part 
of  New  Year,  presumptively  they  are  in  real  sense  New  Year 
itself.  Every  visit  involves  a “square  meal,”  and  (from  the 
Chinese  point  of  view)  a good  time.  To  omit  them,  would  be 
not  only  to  deprive  oneself  of  much  pleasure,  it  would  be  to 
commit  a social  crime,  which  would  almost  certainly  give  great 
offence. 


NATIONAL  LEISURE 

Greater  familiarity  with  the  conditions  and  details  of  Chinese 
life  lead  us  to  wonder  that  so  laborious  a people  find  time  for  all 
this  junketing  and  vain  display.  The  marvel  is  indeed  a per- 
manent one,  but  it  ceases  to  surprise  us  when  we  have  once 
taken  in  the  fact  that  the  whole  Chinese  race  have  as  a unit, 
practically  agreed  to  deduct  from  the  twelve  available  months, 
an  entire  half  moon,  from  New  Year  till  the  Feast  of  Lanterns. 
Within  this  twenty-fourth  part  of  the  year,  nothing  shall  be 
done  which  can  be  left  undone.  The  outgo  is  to  be  put  down 
to  the  expense  account  of  the  whole  year,  and  the  main  pur- 


202 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


pose  is  to  have  a good  time.  This  period  thus  becomes  a 
safety-valve  for  the  nation,  which  else  might  go  distraught  in 
all  its  otherwise  ceaseless  toils.  If  the  Chinese  did  not  as  a 
rule,  work  so  hard,  they  could  not  so  heartily  enjoy  their  long 
vacation.  If  they  did  not  so  heartily  enjoy  their  vacation,  they 
could  not  during  the  rest  of  the  year  work  so  well.  We  are 
therefore  authorized,  in  arranging  our  table  of  contents  of  the 
Chinese  New  Year,  to  give  large  place  to  the  almost  complete 
cessation  of  productive  industry.  It  is  the  epoch  of  national 
leisure. 


GAMBLING 

It  is  a venerable  maxim  that  “Satan  finds  some  mischief 
still,  for  idle  hands  to  do.”  Probably  no  race  that  ever  lived 
could  resist  the  strain  of  such  a sudden  transition  from  constant 
industrial  activity,  to  complete  industrial  inactivity,  to  be  fol- 
lowed half  a month  later  by  the  old  routine  and  another  year 
of  bondage.  They  could  not  resist  the  strain,  that  is  to  say, 
without  a corresponding  reaction;  neither  can  the  Chinese. 
It  is  not  in  human  nature  to  find  consecutive  enjoyment  merely 
in  the  directions  which  have  been  named,  without  trying  to  go 
farther  and  to  get  more.  This  is  precisely  what  the  Chinese 
do,  and  they  do  it  by  the  excitement  of  gambling.  This,  with 
opium  smoking,  is  the  greatest  vice  in  China,  and  the  most 
ruinous.  But  after  all,  taking  the  country  districts  through, 
the  proportion  of  gamblers  among  the  working  classes,  so  far 
as  we  are  aware,  is  limited,  though  vast  sums  are  everywhere 
annually  squandered  in  this  way.  But  the  remarkable  thing  is 
that  at  New  Year’s  time  all  restrictions  seem  to  be  removed, 
and  both  men  and  women  give  themselves  up  to  the  absorbing 
excitement  of  cards,  dominoes,  etc.,  with  money  stakes  of  vary- 
ing amount,  and  with  no  fear  or  even  thought  of  future  evil 
harvests.  In  the  abstract,  gambling  is  of  course  recognized  as 
wrong  and  not  to  be  indulged,  as  likely  to  lead  to  trouble. 
But  at  New  Year’s  time  “everybody  does  it,”  “it  is  only  for 


NEW  YEAR  IN  CHINESE  TILLAGES 


203 


amusement,”  and  “there  is  nothing  else  to  do,” — the  latter  an 
important  fact  to  be  taken  account  of  at  a time  when  even 
cooking  is  often  praetermitted  as  much  as  possible.  Merchants 
do  not  take  down  their  shutters,  but  one  can  hear  the  clerks 
noisily  gambling  inside.  Innkeepers  will  not  open  their  front 
doors,  but  landlord  and  servants  are  all  gambling  together  and 
will  refuse  to  stop  a game  to  feed  your  animals  or  get  you  a 
meal,  telling  you  that  it  is  no  time  to  travel,  and  that  business 
is  business,  and  amusement  amusement. 

Old  women  and  young  women  squatted  on  their  mats  or  their 
k‘angs,  feverishly  shuffle  their  cards  and  pay  their  little  stakes, 
and  all  are  having  a good  time. 

That  this  state  of  things  will  not  stop  suddenly  on  the  day 
after  the  Feast  of  Lanterns,  is  obvious.  It  often  never  stops  at 
all,  but  goes  on  with  a widening  and  lengthening  trail  of  ruin, 
not  ending  even  with  the  grave,  but  lasting  to  the  third  and 
fourth  generation.  Surely  we  are  right  in  calling  gambling  a 
leading  feature  of  a Chinese  New  Year.  And  yet  after  all, 
perhaps  we  have  not  got  to  the  bottom  of  the  matter. 

DEBT-PAYING 

However  little  attention  he  may  pay  to  the  Chinese  calendar, 
every  foreigner  in  China  is  sure  to  be  reminded  in  a very  effect- 
ive way  of  the  approach  of  the  close  of  the  Chinese  year,  long 
before  the  edge  of  the  New  Year  is  to  be  seen  above  the  horizon. 
At  some  time  during  the  twelfth  moon,  the  “boy”  makes  his 
appearance,  and  with  an  unusual  animation  in  his  unanimated 
face,  explains  that  owing  to  a combination  of  circumstances 
which  seem  to  be  to  a large  extent  incapable  of  elucida- 
tion to  us,  he  is  obliged  to  request  the  advance  of  his  wages  for 
the  current  month,  and  also  for  the  one  to  come.  This  may  be 
contrary  to  rule,  doubtless  is  so,  but  owing  to  the  combination 
above  alluded  to,  is  an  imperative  necessity.  Otherwise  ruin 
impends.  It  is  not  long  before  a similar  statement  is  made  by 
the  cook,  with  regard  to  his  affairs,  and  by  the  various  coolies 


204 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


as  to  theirs.  In  each  case  the  necessity  turns  out  upon  investi- 
gation to  be  so  real,  and  the  pressure  of  the  combination  of  cir- 
cumstances so  powerful,  that  we  are,  in  a manner,  forced  to  do 
violence  to  our  own  judgment,  in  order  to  avert  the  imminent 
ruin  of  those  who  are  in  our  employ,  and  in  whom  we  feel, 
perhaps,  some  interest.  But  it  is  a long  time  before  it  occurs 
to  us  to  look  into  the  matter  more  deeply  than  sufficiently  to 
ascertain  what  everybody  knew  before,  that  Chinese  New  Year 
is  preceded  by  a universal  season  of  debt-paying  from  which  no 
one  is  exempt.  If  we  insist  upon  following  up  any  specific  case 
with  a rigid  examination  into  its  remoter  causes,  we  soon  learn 
from  the  principal  party  such  facts  as  appear  to  justify  his  as- 
sertion of  an  emergency,  and  also  that  there  is  nothing  peculiar 
in  his  case,  but  that  other  people  are  in  the  same  predicament. 
If  these  inquiries  are  carried  far  enough,  and  deep  enough,  they 
will  bring  to  light  the  seven  deadly  sins  of  Chinese  social  finan- 
ciering. 

i.  Everybody  always  needs  to  borrow.  That  the  business 
of  the  world  even  in  Western  lands  depends  upon  the  borrowing 
of  money,  and  that  credit  is  the  largest  factor  in  trade,  are  posi- 
tions which  we  do  not  for  a moment  forget.  But  Chinese  bor- 
rowing is  of  a different  type  from  that  with  which  the  great  ex- 
pansion of  modern  commerce  has  made  us  familiar.  We  do 
not  affirm  that  there  are  not  Chinese  who  do  not  need  the 
money  of  other  people  for  the  conduct  of  their  affairs,  but  only 
that  these  people  are  so  rare  that  they  may  as  well  be  disre- 
garded. The  whole  scale  of  Chinese  living  and  the  whole  sys- 
tem of  economics  are  of  such  a sort,  that  as  a rule  there  is  but 
a narrow  margin  of  financial  reserve.  With  all  their  practical- 
ity and  skill  in  affairs,  it  is  a constant  source  of  wonder  that  so 
few  Chinese  ever  have  anything  to  fall  back  upon.  One  reason 
for  this  is  the  fact  that  it  is  very  difficult  for  them  to  accumu- 
late a reserve,  and  another  equally  potent  is  the  fact  that  there 
is  nothing  which  can  be  safely  done  with  it  pending  its  use. 
There  are  no  savings-banks,  and  there  are  no  investments  which 


NEW  YEAR  IN  CHINESE  VILLAGES 


205 


are  safe.  The  only  thing  which  can  be  done  with  ready  money, 
is  to  lend  it  to  those  who  need  it,  which  is  generally  done  with 
some  reluctance,  as  the  lender  justly  fears  lest  he  should  never 
again  see  either  interest  or  principal.  Whoever  has  a wedding 
in  his  family,  is  liable  to  have  to  borrow  money  to  carry  it 
through,  and  if  it  be  a funeral  the  necessity  will  be  still  more 
urgent.  He  needs  money  to  start  in  business,  and  he  needs 
more  to  settle  up  at  the  end  of  the  year,  when,  if  their  own  ac- 
counts are  to  be  trusted,  nine  Chinese  out  of  ten  who  engage  in 
business  in  a small  way,  find  that  they  have  “lost  money  ” ; 
though  this  often  signifies  that  they  have  not  realized  so  much 
as  they  had  hoped.  In  short  it  is  hard  to  find  a Chinese  to 
whom  the  loan  of  a sum  of  money  at  any  time,  would  not  be 
as  welcome  as  “water  to  a fish  in  a dry  rut.”  It  is  this  all- 
prevailing  need  which  smoothes  the  surface  of  the  spot  where 
the  pit  is  to  be  dug. 

2.  Everybody  is  obliged  to  lend  money.  We  have  just  re- 
marked that  the  man  who  happens  to  have  a little  surplus  cash 
does  not  like  to  lend  it,  lest  he  should  never  see  it  again.  But 
there  are  various  kinds  and  degrees  of  pressure  which  can  be 
brought  to  bear  upon  the  capitalist.  One  of  these  is  connected 
with  the  solidarity  of  the  Chinese  family,  or  clan.  If  one  of 
the  members  has  money  which  he  might  lend  and  another  is 
desperately  in  need  of  it,  the  latter  will  get  a member  of  the 
generation  higher  than  that  to  which  the  capitalist  belongs,  to 
intercede  for  him.  This  may  be  done  unwillingly,  but  it  will 
probably  be  done.  To  a sufficient  amount  of  pressure  of  this 
ancestral  description,  the  capitalist  will  find  it  best  to  yield, 
though  not  improbably  against  his  financial  judgment.  But 
every  Chinese  is  from  infancy  accustomed  to  the  idea  that  it  is 
seldom  easy  to  have  one’s  own  way  in  all  things,  and  that  when 
one  cannot  do  as  he  would,  he  must  do  as  he  must.  If  the 
borrower  does  not  belong  to  the  same  family  or  clan  as  the 
lender,  the  difficulty  will  be  greater,  but  it  may  perhaps  be 
overcome  by  the  same  description  of  pressure,  by  means  of 


206 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


friends.  A would-be  borrower  is  often  obliged  to  make  a 
great  many  kotows  before  he  can  secure  the  favour  of  a loan  (at 
an  extortionately  high  rate  of  interest),  but  he  is  much  aided 
in  his  efforts  by  the  Chinese  notion  that  when  a certain  amount 
of  pressure  has  been  brought  to  bear,  a request  must  be  granted, 
just  as  one  of  a pair  of  scales  must  go  down  if  you  put  on 
enough  weights.  Thus  it  comes  about  that  in  all  ranks  of 
Chinese,  the  man  who  has,  is  the  man  who  must  be  content 
to  allow  to  share  in  his  wealth  (for  a handsome  remuneration). 

3.  From  the  foregoing  propositions,  it  follows  with  inevi- 
table certainty,  that  almost  everybody  owes  some  one  else. 
There  is  never  any  occasion  to  ask  a Chinese  whether  he  owes 
money.  The  proper  formula  is,  How  much  do  you  owe,  and 
to  whom,  and  what  is  the  rate  of  interest? 

4.  No  Chinese  ever  pays  cash  down , unless  he  is  obliged  to 
do  so.  To  us  this  may  appear  a most  eccentric  habit,  but  it 
seems  to  be  almost  a law.  The  Chinese  has  learned  by  ages 
of  experience,  that  he  no  sooner  pays  away  money  to  satisfy 
one  debt,  than  he  needs  that  same  money  to  liquidate  other 
debts.  In  their  own  figuratively  expressive  phrase,  a single 
cup  of  water  is  wanted  in  three  or  four  places  at  once,  and  the 
supply  is  always  as  inadequate,  as  the  classical  “cup  of  water 
to  put  out  the  fire  in  a cart-load  of  fuel.”  Knowing  this  with 
a keenness  of  apprehension  which  it  is  difficult  for  us  to  appre- 
ciate, the  Chinese  holds  on  fast  to  his  cash  till  it  is  wrung  from 
him  by  a force  which  overcomes  his  own  tenacity  of  grip. 

5.  No  Chinese  ever  pays  a debt  till  he  is  dunned.  To  us 
this  also  seems  a strange  practice.  Most  of  us  have  grown  up 
with  a fixed  idea  that  as  a debt  must  be  paid,  “if  it  were  done 
when  ’tis  done,  then  ’twere  well  it  were  done  quickly.”  The 
mind  of  a Chinese  operates  in  quite  a different  way.  His 
view  is,  “ If  it  must  be  done,  it  were  best  done  when  it  is  done 
as  deliberately  as  the  case  admits.” 

6.  It  seems  also  to  be  the  rule,  that  no  Chinese  will  pay  his 
debts  till  he  has  been  'dunned  a great  number  of  times.  Here 


NEW  YEAR  IN  CHINESE  VILLAGES 


207 


again  he  is  at  the  opposite  pole  from  that  which  we  occupy. 
We  do  not  like  to  be  dunned,  and  would  rather  make  consid- 
erable sacrifices  than  to  have  needy  persons  dogging  us  for  the 
collection  of  debts  which  we  honestly  owe,  which  we  must  ul- 
timately pay,  and  not  to  arrange  for  the  payment  of  which  at 
once  is  more  or  less  of  a disgrace.  By  “we”  we  mean  of 
course  the  average  foreigner,  for  it  is  not  to  be  denied  that 
Western  lands  have  their  full  proportion  of  impecunious  and 
shameless  rascals  who  “live  off  the  interest  of  their  debts,” 
and  who  swindle  all  those  whom  they  can.  But  the  Chinese 
of  whom  we  are  speaking  do  not  belong  to  this  class.  The 
mass  of  the  Chinese  people  we  believe  to  be  honest,  and  they 
fully  intend  to  pay  all  that  they  owe,  but  they  do  not  intend  to 
pay  until  they  are  ready  to  do  so,  and  neither  gods  nor  men 
can  tell  when  that  will  be.  It  is  a current  saying  that  when  a 
person  has  many  debts  he  is  no  longer  concerned  about  them, 
just  as  when  one  has  many  parasites  he  ceases  to  scratch  ! 

7.  In  a large  proportion  of  cases,  the  Chinese  who  pays 
a debt,  pays  but  a part  of  it  at  a time.  The  rest  he  will  try  to 
get  together  in  the  “third  month,”  “the  ninth  month,”  or  at 
the  “end  of  the  next  year.”  The  practical  outcome  of  these 
last  three  peculiarities  is,  that  the  twelfth  moon  of  every  Chinese 
year  is  a time  of  maximum  activity  all  over  the  empire.  One 
would  suppose  that  a vast  amount  of  work  was  being  accom- 
plished, but  the  facts  are  otherwise.  One  is  reminded  of  the 
Witch  in  “Alice  Behind  the  Looking-Glass,”  where  the  child 
was  hurried  along  on  a broomstick  at  such  a rate  as  to  take 
her  breath  away.  She  thought  she  must  be  traversing  illimit- 
able space,  but  when  this  idea  was  communicated  to  the 
Witch,  the  latter  only  laughed,  and  replied  that  this  was  noth- 
ing at  all,  for  they  had  to  go  like  that  to  “keep  up  with 
things  ” and  if  they  were  really  to  get  ahead  to  any  extent,  the 
rate  of  travel  must  be  enormously  faster  than  that  ! The  rac- 
ing around  of  the  Chinese  in  their  final  moon,  is  just  “ to  keep 
up  with  things.”  Every  shop,  no  matter  how  trifling  the  sum 


208 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


total  of  its  business,  has  its  army  of  runners  out,  each  “de- 
manding debts,  ’ ’ or  rather  endeavouring  to  do  so ; for  to 
achieve  it  is  no  such  easy  matter.  The  debtor  is  himself  a 
creditor,  and  he  also  will  be  occupied  in  the  effort  to  call  in 
the  sums  which  are  owing  to  him.  Each  separate  individual 
is  engaged  in  the  task  of  trying  to  chase  down  the  men  who 
owe  money  to  him,  and  compel  them  to  pay  up,  and  at  the 
same  time  in  trying  to  avoid  the  persons  who  are  struggling  to 
track  him  down  and  corkscrew  from  him  the  amount  of  his  in- 
debtedness to  them  ! The  dodges  and  subterfuges  to  which 
each  is  obliged  to  resort,  increase  in  complexity  and  number 
with  the  advance  of  the  season,  until  at  the  close  of  the  month, 
the  national  activity  is  at  fever  heat.  For  if  a debt  is  not  se- 
cured then,  it  will  go  over  till  a new  year,  and  no  one  knows 
what  will  be  the  status  of  a claim  which  has  actually  contrived 
to  cheat  the  annual  Day  of  Judgment.  In  spite  of  the  excel- 
lent Chinese  habit  of  making  the  close  of  a year  a grand  clear- 
ing-house for  all  debts,  Chinese  human  nature  is  too  much  for 
Chinese  custom,  and  there  are  many  of  these  postponed  debts 
which  are  a grief  of  mind  to  many  a Chinese  creditor. 

The  Chinese  are  at  once  the  most  practical  and  the  most 
sentimental  of  the  human  race.  New  Year  must  not  be  violated 
by  duns  for  debts,  but  the  debt  must  be  collected  New  Year 
though  it  be.  For  this  reason  one  sometimes  sees  an  urgent 
creditor  going  about  early  on  the  first  day  of  the  year  carrying 
a lantern  looking  for  his  creditor.  His  artificial  light  shows 
that  by  a social  fiction  the  sun  has  not  yet  risen,  it  is  still  yes- 
terday and  the  debt  can  still  be  claimed  ! 

We  have  but  to  imagine  the  application  of  the  principles 
which  we  have  named,  to  the  whole  Chinese  empire,  and  we 
get  new  light  upon  the  nature  of  the  Chinese  New  Year  festivi- 
ties. They  are  a time  of  rejoicing,  but  there  is  no  rejoicing  so 
keen  as  that  of  a ruined  debtor,  who  has  succeeded  by  shrewd 
devices  in  avoiding  the  most  relentless  of  his  creditors  and  has 
thus  postponed  his  ruin  for  at  least  another  twelve  months. 


NEW  YEAR  IN  CHINESE  VILLAGES 


209 


For,  once  past  the  narrow  strait  at  the  end  of  the  year,  the 
debtor  finds  himself  again  in  broad  and  peaceful  waters,  where 
he  cannot  be  molested.  Even  should  his  creditors  meet  him 
on  New  Year’s  day,  there  could  be  no  possibility  of  mentioning 
the  fact  of  the  previous  day’s  disgraceful  flight  and  conceal- 
ment, or  indeed  of  alluding  to  business  at  all,  for  this  would 
not  be  “good  form,”  and  to  the  Chinese  “Good  Form” 
(otherwise  known  as  Custom),  is  the  chief  national  divinity. 

An  ingenious  device  by  which  to  secure  the  desirable  result 
that  a family  shall  be  sure  to  have  a supply  of  the  food  most 
indispensable-  for  a proper  treatment  of  guests  at  the  festive 
New  Year  season,  is  found  in  what  are  called  New  Year 
Societies.  Each  member  of  the  society  contributes  a few  hun- 
dred or  perhaps  a thousand  cash  a month  for  the  first  five 
months  of  the  year,  until  the  wheat  harvest  in  June  when 
wheat  is  at  its  lowest  price,  for  example  1,200  cash  for  100 
catties  or  picul.  During  the  five  months  which  have  elapsed, 
the  money  thus  assessed  upon  the  members  has  been  put  at  in- 
terest, and  has  already  accumulated  a handsome  income.  As 
soon  as  the  new  wheat  is  in  the  market,  the  loans  are  all  called 
in,  and  the  treasurer  takes  the  whole  of  the  sum  belonging  to 
the  association  and  invests  it  in  wheat.  This  he  keeps  until 
the  close  of  the  year,  by  which  time  it  is  not  at  all  unlikely 
that  the  price  of  the  grain  has  doubled.  He  then  exchanges 
the  wheat,  at  the  current  rate,  with  some  maker  of  bread-cakes 
( man-t'ou ),  and  these  are  divided  among  the  stockholders.  In 
this  way,  each  one  gets  not  only  the  benefit  of  the  interest  on 
loans  for  five  months,  but  also  nearly  or  quite  double  the  value 
of  the  wheat  bought  just  after  harvest.  Sometimes  the  monthly 
payments  are  continued  throughout  the  year,  and  the  sum  is 
then  expended  in  a lump  for  bread-cakes,  wheat,  cotton,  or 
whatever  each  family  most  needs  for  the  New  Year  season.  In 
societies  of  this  kind,  the  rate  of  interest  is  sure  to  be  at  least 
three  per  cent,  per  month,  and  perhaps  four  per  cent.  The 
amounts  borrowed  are  usually  small,  and  each  borrower  must 


210 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


have  a security  from  among  the  contributors  to  the  fund.  In 
case  payment  is  not  forthcoming  at  the  due  date,  the  next  step 
is  to  raise  an  uproar,  and  if  possible  to  collect  the  debt  by  force. 
The  inevitable  and  universal  uncertainty  and  difficulty  attend- 
ing the  collection  of  any  money  on  loan,  give  emphasis  to  the 
adage  that  “where  the  profit  is  large,  the  risk  is  correspond- 
ingly great.  ’ ’ 

Extortionate  as  are  the  ordinary  rates  of  Chinese  interest, 
ranging  from  twenty-four  to  forty-eight  or  more  per  cent,  per 
annum,  there  are  other  ways  than  direct  loans,  by  which  even 
greater  profits  may  be  gathered.  The  passion  for  gambling 
seems  to  be  all-pervasive  among  the  Chinese,  and  it  is  perhaps 
a greater  bar  to  the  prosperity  of  the  common  people  than  any 
other  habit  of  their  lives.  Many  of  the  phenomena  of  Chinese 
cooperation  are  associated  with  gambling  practices,  from  which 
the  profit  to  those  who  manage  the  finances  is  very  great.  In 
all  cases  where  there  is  money  to  loan,  it  is  possible  to  employ 
it  for  gaming,  under  the  direction  of  the  managers,  or  trustees. 
Those  who  are  in  the  habit  of  gambling  do  not  stop  when  their 
supply  of  money  fails,  but  draw  upon  the  bank  of  the  loan  as- 
sociation at  terms  which  are  agreed  upon,  but  which  differ  ac- 
cording to  circumstances.  In  an  emergency,  it  might  happen 
that  a person  whose  fortune  had  failed  him,  would  be  obliged 
to  borrow  of  the  bank,  say  800  cash,  which  in  a short  time  he 
must  replace  with  1,000.  At  the  end  of  the  year  when  the  ac- 
counts are  made  up  and  the  money  paid  in,  it  is  equally  di- 
vided among  the  contributors  of  the  society,  whether  they  may 
have  used  the  capital  for  gambling  or  not.  In  case  they  have 
borrowed  a part  of  the  capital  and  are  not  able  to  repay  it, 
their  debt  is  set  against  their  contribution,  and  they  lose  their 
investment. 


XX 


THE  VILLAGE  BULLY 

adequate  understanding  of  the  life  of  the  Chinese  is 
possible  without  some  comprehension  of  the  place 
therein  of  the  bully,  and  conversely  it  might  almost  be  said 
that  a just  apprehension  of  the  character  and  functions  of  the 
Chinese  bully  is  equivalent  to  a comprehension  of  Chinese  so- 
ciety. 

So  far  as  we  know,  the  Chinese  bully  is  a character  peculiar 
to  China.  By  this  it  is  not  of  course  meant  that  other  lands 
do  not  have  and  have  not  always  had  their  bullies,  but  that  the 
mode  in  which  Chinese  bullies  exert  their  power  is  unique.  It 
depends  largely  upon  the  peculiar  characteristics  of  the  Chinese 
race,  prominent  among  which  is  the  desire  for  peace,  and  a re- 
luctance to  engage  in  a quarrel.  The  traits  of  a bully  among 
a savage  and  warlike  people  such  as  our  ancestors  once  were, 
and  of  a bully  among  such  a quiet  folk  as  the  Chinese,  are  in- 
herently different. 

The  Chinese  have  many  terms  to  designate  the  individual 
whom  we  have  termed  a bully,  among  which  one  of  the  most 
common  is  that  which  means  literally  “ bare-stick  ” ( kuang - 
kuri),  in  allusion  to  the  fact  that  those  who  are  most  frequently 
bullies  are  generally  those  who  have  no  property  to  lose.  But 
the  general  term  is  applicable  to  any  one  who  plays  the  part, 
whatever  his  social  condition  may  be,  and  it  is  in  this  sense 
that  we  shall  employ  it. 

In  considering  the  social  functions  of  the  bully,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  distinguish  him  from  several  classes  of  persons,  to  any 
one  of  which  he  may  belong,  but  from  each  one  of  which  he 
may  be  different.  These  four  classes  are, — first,  headmen  of 

21 1 


212 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


the  village  (called  also,  as  we  have  already  remarked,  by  many 
other  names);  second,  intermediaries  (not  “middlemen”  in 
the  technical  sense,  but  those  who  as  peace-talkers,  intervene 
in  the  affairs  of  others)  etc.;  third,  beggars;  and  lastly 
thieves. 

In  China  next  in  importance  after  the  division  of  human  be- 
ings into  two  sexes,  is  another  classification  which  every  Chi- 
nese instinctively  adopts.  According  to  this  arrangement,  all 
members  of  society  are  rated  according  to  their  probable  be- 
haviour under  bad  treatment,  just  as  the  chemist  considers  all 
substances  in  the  light  of  their  capacity  for  combination  with 
other  elements. 

In  the  popular  speech  of  the  people,  every  Chinese  villager 
is  said  to  be  either  “ lao-shih  ” or  not  “ lao-shih.”  The  words 
“ lao-shih"  mean  literary  “old  and  solid,”  or  in  a derived 
sense  gentle,  tractable,  from  which  again  arises  a third  signifi- 
cation of  stupid,  and  gullible.  The  highest  degree  of  this 
latter  quality  is  expressed  in  the  phrase  “ ssu-lao-shih,”  which 
literally  denotes  one  who  is  “dead-stupid  ” ; that  is,  one  who 
can  be  imposed  upon  to  any  extent.  Such  a one,  in  a common 
adage,  is  compared  to  the  toes  on  an  old  woman’s  feet,  which 
have  been  suppressed  all  their  life,  without  any  power  of  as- 
serting themselves. 

The  village  bully  is,  (as  we  used  to  be  taught  of  vulgar 
fractions)  of  three  kinds,  simple,  compound,  and  complex. 
The  simple  bully  is  a unit  by  himself,  managing  his  own  affairs 
with  his  own  resources.  The  compound  bully  calls  to  his  aid 
the  power  of  numbers,  and  the  mysterious  and  almost  irresisti- 
ble talent  for  combination  inherent  in  the  Chinese.  The  com- 
plex bully  is  not  a bully  merely,  but  has  some  business  or  pro- 
fession, in  the  management  of  which  he  is  materially  aided  by 
the  fact  that  he  is  a man  to  be  feared. 

In  his  simplest  form,  a Chinese  bully  is  a man  of  a more  or 
less  violent  temper  and  strong  passions,  who  is  resolved  never 
to  “ eat  loss,”  and  under  all  circumstances  to  give  as  good  (or 


THE  VILLAGE  BULLY 


213 


as  bad)  as  he  gets.  Fortunately  for  the  peace  of  society,  the 
overwhelming  majority  of  the  Chinese  belong  to  the  “ lao-shih  ” 
variety.  In  order  to  secure  the  reputation  of  being  not  “ lao- 
shih ,”  a shrewd  villager  will  sometimes  adopt  the  expedient, 
not  unknown  to  other  lands,  of  wearing  his  clothes  in  a loose 
and  rowdy-like  fashion,  talking  in  a boisterous  tone,  and  re- 
senting contradiction  or  any  overt  lack  of  compliance  with  his 
opinions. 

His  cap  is  worn  studiedly  awry ; his  outer  garment  instead 
of  being  decorously  fastened,  is  left  purposely  unlooped  ; his 
abundant  hair  is  braided  into  a loose  cue  apparently  as  thick  as 
his  arm,  the  plaiting  beginning  several  inches  away  from  the 
head  : the  end  of  the  cue  is  generally  coiled  about  his  neck  or 
over  his  head  (a  gross  breach  of  Chinese  etiquette),  as  if  to 
show  that  he  thirsts  for  a fight.  His  outer  leggings  are  not  im- 
probably so  tied  as  to  display  a lining  which  is  more  expensive 
than  the  outside ; and  his  shoes  are  invariably  worn  down  at 
the  heel,  perhaps  to  make  an  ostentatious  display  of  a silk  em- 
broidered heel  to  the  cotton  stocking — a touch  of  splendour 
adapted  to  strike  awe  into  the  rustic  beholder.  In  a time  of 
intense  excitement  over  alleged  kidnapping  of  children,  we  have 
known  a man  to  be  apprehended  in  open  court  and  examined 
as  a bad  character,  because  the  colour  of  his  clothes  was  un- 
usual. 

By  persistently  following  out  his  peculiar  lines  of  action,  he 
will  not  unlikely  succeed  in  diffusing  the  impression  that  he  is 
a dangerous  man  to  interfere  with,  and  will  in  consequence  be 
let  severely  alone.  A cat  of  even  a small  experience  will  not 
improbably  manifest  considerable  hesitation  before  attempting 
to  swallow  a lizard.  It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  if  any  small 
reptile  is  obliged  to  associate  with  cats,  the  art  of  simulating  a 
lizard  is  a valuable  one.  The  grade  of  bully  of  which  we  are 
now  speaking  is  in  all  Chinese  society  too  common  to  attract 
much  notice,  and  he  can  be  avoided  by  letting  him  alone.  His 
weapons,  like  the  walls  of  Chinese  cities,  are  defensive  only. 


214 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


Much  more  to  be  dreaded  is  the  bully  who  will  not  let  others 
alone,  but  who  is  always  inserting  himself  into  their  affairs 
with  a view  to  extracting  some  benefit  for  himself.  The  most 
dangerous  type  of  these  men  is  the  one  who  makes  very  little 
ado,  but  whose  acts  are  ruinous  to  those  whom  he  wishes  to  in- 
jure. Such  a one  is  aptly  likened  to  a dog  which  bites  without 
showing  his  teeth. 

The  tactics  which  such  a man  adopts  to  establish  his  claim 
to  the  rank  of  “village  king,”  are  the  same  with  which  we  are 
only  too  familiar  in  other  lands,  and  which  an  advancing  civili- 
zation has  not  yet  succeeded  in  rendering  wholly  obsolete.  If 
there  is  no  overt  act  which  he  sees  his  way  to  commit,  he  can 
always  pick  a quarrel  by  reviling,  which  is  regarded  as  throw- 
ing down  a glove  of  defiance.  Not  to  notice  such  a challenge 
is  from  a Chinese  standpoint  almost  impossible.  “ To  be  re- 
viled and  to  feel  no  pain,”  this  is  the  Chinese  ideal  of  shame- 
lessness. Nothing  is  rarer  than  to  find  a Chinese  who  has  been 
reviled,  and  who,  when  he  was  strong  enough  to  demand  an 
apology,  has  allowed  the  matter  to  drop. 

The  intricate  constitution  of  Chinese  society  is  such  that 
there  is  a great  variety  of  acts  which,  while  they  may  not  be 
directly  hostile,  must  be  understood  in  the  light  of  a challenge. 
If  for  example  a bully  has  let  it  be  known  that  he  is  determined 
that  a theatrical  representation  shall  take  place  the  next  autumn 
in  his  village,  for  some  one  to  oppose  it  might  not  improbably 
be  such  an  act  of  hostility  as  to  amount  to  a challenge.  The 
bully  must  then  see  that  the  theatre  is  engaged,  or  his  “ face” 
is  lost,  which  one  may  be  sure  will  never  happen  as  long  as  he 
is  able  to  prevent  it. 

There  is  always  about  one  of  these  village  bullies  a general 
atmosphere  of  menace,  as  if  he  were  thirsting  for  an  oppor- 
tunity to  issue  an  ultimatum.  He  often  does  so,  in  a singularly 
vague  manner,  the  significance  of  which  is,  however,  perfectly 
well  understood.  If  A is  the  bully,  and  B is  known  to  oppose 
him,  then  A publicly  states  that  if  B does  so  and  so,  A will  not 


THE  VILLAGE  BULLY 


215 


put  up  with  it  (/«  snan  t‘a,  literally,  “will  not  take  the  ac- 
count,” but  insinuating  a dark  hint  as  to  consequences).  If  B 
takes  the  hint  and  quietly  retires,  there  is  peace,  but  otherwise 
there  is  war. 

One  of  the  qualifications  which  is  very  convenient  for  the 
village  bully,  although  not  absolutely  indispensable,  is  physical 
strength.  One  of  the  nicknames  of  the  local  bully  as  just  re- 
marked, is  that  of  village  king.  Among  those  whose  forte  is 
violence,  the  king  must  be  a man  who  has  inherent  power, 
“the  man  who  can,”  for  it  is  impossible  to  say  at  what  mo- 
ment all  his  strength  will  be  needed  in  some  fight. 

It  is  in  view  of  this  consideration,  that  it  is  very  common  for 
young  fellows  who  wish  to  distinguish  themselves  among  their 
comrades,  to  take  systematic  lessons  in  “ fist-and-foot,  ” that  is, 
in  gymnastics.  A high  degree  of  skill  in  wrestling,  and  the 
ability  (as  alleged)  to  deliver  such  a blow  with  the  fist  as  shall 
knock  out  a brick  from  a wall  a foot  thick,  are  in  many  cir- 
cumstances valuable  accomplishments. 

The  writer  is  well  acquainted  with  a young  man  who  en- 
joyed the  reputation  of  being  the  strongest  person  in  his  village. 
Being  sent  on  an  errand  to  a distant  city,  he  had  occasion  to 
pass  through  a smaller  city  some  forty  li  from  his  home,  where 
he  was  not  known.  Here  a number  of  bullies,  who  happened 
to  be  gathered  in  front  of  the  district  yamen,  struck  with  his 
rusticity,  stopped  him,  and  demanded  who  he  was  and  where 
he  was  going.  His  replies  to  their  inquiries  not  being  suffi- 
ciently prompt  to  give  satisfaction,  he  was  set  upon  by  several 
men,  who  attacked  him  simultaneously.  Here  his  “fist-and- 
foot  ” skill  was  of  great  service ; for  though  two  men  were  on 
top  of  him,  he  was  able  to  seize  the  ankle  of  one  of  them  and 
to  give  it  such  a fearful  twist  as  almost  to  dislocate  the  joint, 
whereupon  his  assailants,  howling  with  pain,  were  only  too  glad 
to  release  him.  At  a later  date  the  matter  was  looked  into, 
and  at  the  feast  which  the  attacking  party  was  compelled  to 
give,  by  way  of  apology,  one  of  those  present  hobbled  around 


216 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


in  a particularly  feeble  manner,  and  freely  expressed  the  opinion 
that  upon  this  occasion  he  had  mistaken  his  man  ! 

In  the  numerous  cases  in  which  persons  are  imposed  upon  by 
a bully  who  is  too  much  for  them,  their  earliest  thoughts  are 
how  it  may  be  practicable  to  collect  a band  of  men,  expert  in 
the  “ fist-and-foot  ” practices,  and  make  an  attack  upon  the 
aggressive  party,  by  which  means  he  may  be  suppressed.  The 
writer  once  met  a man  whose  home  is  in  a village  noted  as  the 
headquarters  of  a daring  and  unscrupulous  band  of  thieves. 
Having  been  robbed  by  them  with  no  prospect  of  any  redress 
through  legal  channels,  this  man  collected  a band  of  athletes 
and  attacked  the  thieves  in  the  vicinity  of  the  village  where 
they  made  their  home,  so  belabouring  them  that  the  band  re- 
moved its  headquarters  elsewhere. 

It  is  a useful,  but  by  no  means  a necessary  qualification  of  the 
bully,  that  he  should  be  a poor  man,  with  nothing  to  lose.  Pov- 
erty in  China  is  often  a synonym  for  the  most  abject  misery  and 
want.  The  entire  possessions  of  great  numbers  of  the  people 
would  not  amount  in  value  to  five  dollars,  and  thousands  of  per- 
sons never  know  whence  the  next  meal  is  to  come.  Such  persons 
would  in  European  countries  constitute  what  are  called  “the  dan- 
gerous classes.”  In  China,  unless  their  distress  is  extreme,  they 
do  not  mass  themselves,  and  they  seldom  wage  war  against  soci- 
ety as  a whole.  But  individuals  of  this  type  may,  if  they  have 
other  requisite  abilities,  become  “ village  kings,”  and  order  the 
course  of  current  events  much  according  to  their  own  will. 

Such  persons,  in  the  figurative  language  of  the  Chinese,  are 
called  “barefoot  men,”  in  allusion  to  their  destitute  condition, 
and  it  is  a common  saying  that  “ the  barefoot  man  (otherwise 
known  as  * mud-legs  ’)  is  not  afraid  of  him  who  has  stockings 
on  his  feet,”  for  the  former  can  at  once  retreat  into  the  mud, 
where  the  latter  dare  not  follow.  In  other  words,  the  barefoot 
man  is  able  to  hold  in  terror  the  man  who  has  property  to  lose, 
by  an  open  or  an  implicit  threat  of  vengeance,  against  which 
the  man  of  property  cannot  safeguard  himself. 


THE  VILLAGE  BULLY 


217 


The  forms  which  this  vengeance  will  take  vary  according  to 
circumstances.  One  of  the  most  common  is  that  of  incendiary 
fires,  which,  in  a thickly  inhabited  village,  where  there  is  often 
a large  accumulation  of  fuel  stacked  up,  is  a mode  of  attack 
particularly  to  be  dreaded.  It  is  always  easy  to  set  a fire,  but 
difficult  and  frequently  impossible  to  extinguish  it.  We  have 
known  numberless  instances  of  this  sort,  in  which,  despite  all 
diligence,  no  one  was  ever  detected  in  setting  the  fire.  The 
terror  which  such  fires  inspire  is  so  great,  that  the  man  who  is 
thought  to  be  specially  liable  to  them  may  be  marked  and 
avoided  for  that  reason  alone.  It  is  considered  unsafe  to  have 
anything  to  do  with  him,  much  less  to  aid  him  in  extinguishing 
his  fires.  In  one  case  of  this  sort,  the  same  individual  was  re- 
peatedly visited  with  incendiary  fires,  and  on  the  last  occasion 
all  his  carts  were  totally  destroyed,  nothing  remaining  but  the 
tires  of  the  wheels.  It  was  afterward  found  that  strong  leather 
straps  had  been  used  to  bind  the  wheels  to  the  framework  of  the 
shed  in  which  they  were  kept,  so  that  any  attempt  to  drag  the 
carts  out  was  certain  to  fail. 

Another  method  by  which  the  bully  signifies  his  dissatisfac- 
tion with  his  enemy,  is  by  injuring  his  crops.  In  a country 
where  the  farms  are  subdivided  into  mere  fragments,  every 
farmer’s  land  is  contiguous  to  that  of  a great  number  of  other 
persons.  As  already  mentioned  a large  farm  will  often  consist 
of  scores  of  different  pieces  of  ground,  which  have  been 
bought  as  opportunity  offered.  When  the  land  is  planted,  and 
again  when  the  harvest  is  gathered,  excellent  opportunity  is  af- 
forded for  disputes.  The  little  bushes  which  serve  as  bound- 
aries of  the  fields  of  different  owners,  in  regions  where  stone 
posts  are  too  expensive,  are  readily  destroyed  or  removed,  and 
in  any  case  the  boundaries  are  more  or  less  inexact,  leaving 
room  for  uncertainty  as  to  the  precise  point  at  which  one  piece 
of  ground  ends  and  another  begins. 

It  is  in  such  situations  as  this  that  the  bully  is  at  his  best.  It 
is  well  understood  that  he  will  suffer  no  loss,  and  that  whoever 


218 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


happens  to  be  his  neighbour,  will  literally  have  “ a hard  row  to 
hoe.”  There  are  sometimes  sections  of  ground,  such  as  those 
belonging  to  public  uses,  river  embankments,  the  land  of  cer- 
tain temples,  and  the  like,  which  no  one  but  a bully  could  cul- 
tivate at  all,  because  the  crops  must  be  defended  against  in- 
vasion from  all  quarters,  and  only  a bully  can  furnish  the 
necessary  skill  and  ferocity  to  protect  himself. 

In  his  essay  on  Lord  Clive,  Macaulay  mentions  the  circum- 
stance which  was  still  remembered  in  Shropshire,  that  in  his 
boyish  days  the  great  Indian  soldier  “formed  all  the  idle  lads 
of  the  town  into  a kind  of  predatory  army,  and  compelled  the 
shopkeepers  to  submit  to  a tribute  of  apples  and  half-pence,  in 
consideration  of  which  he  guaranteed  the  security  of  the  win- 
dows.” Young  Robert  Clive  had  hit  upon  the  precise  principle 
by  which  the  Chinese  bully  maintains  himself  in  perpetual  rule, 
a principle  indeed  as  old  as  the  race : 

“ The  good  old  rule,  the  simple  plan 
That  those  should  take  who  have  the  power, 

And  those  should  keep  who  can.” 

The  means  of  enforcing  these  exactions  is  always  at  hand, 
and  is  expressed  in  one  fateful  and  compound  noun,  law-suit. 
The  bully  who  understands  his  business  is  well  acquainted  with 
every  one  at  the  district  yamSn,  and  is  in  fact  one  of  their  best 
customers,  or  rather  the  man  who  brings  them  their  custom. 
The  yamen  is  the  spider’s  web,  and  the  bully  is  the  large  insect 
which  drives  the  flies  into  the  net,  where  it  will  go  ill  with  them 
ere  they  escape. 

If  his  adversary  is  rich,  the  bully  may  adopt  the  plan  of 
leaving  a bag  of  smuggled  salt  in  the  doorway  of  the  rich  man, 
at  the  same  time  taking  care  to  have  a “ salt  inspector  ” ready 
to  seize  the  salt,  and  bring  an  accusation  against  the  man  of 
means  as  a defier  of  the  law.  The  “salt  inspectors”  are 
themselves  smugglers,  selected  for  their  expertness  in  the  art, 
and  like  all  other  underlings  in  Chinese  official  life  they  are 


Entrance  to  a Yamen. 


Chinese  Court  of  Justice. 


THE  VILLAGE  BULLY 


219 


quite  free  from  the  trammels  of  any  sort  of  conscience.  From 
a suit  of  this  kind  no  rich  man  would  be  likely  to  escape  with- 
out the  sacrifice  of  many  thousand  strings  of  cash,  being  not 
improbably  forced  to  furnish  the  funds  for  repairing  a city  wall, 
for  rebuilding  a temple,  or  some  other  public  work.  The  ca- 
pacity to  conduct  successfully  a lawsuit  is  in  China  what  it 
must  have  been  in  Bagdad  during  the  time  of  the  Caliph 
Haroun  A1  Raschid  to  wear  the  Cap  of  Darkness  and  Shoes  of 
Swiftness.  Such  agencies  defy  all  foes  except  those  similarly 
equipped.  And  as  in  the  Arabian  Nights  there  are  many  stories 
of  magicians  warring  with  magicians  who  also  “did  so  with 
their  enchantments,  ’ ’ in  like  manner  when  Chinese  bullies  meet 
in  a legal  fight  at  a yamen,  it  is  a battle  of  giants. 

The  most  expert  of  all  this  dreaded  class  is  the  bully  who  is 
also  a literary  man,  perhaps  a hsiu-ts‘ai,  or  Bachelor  of  Arts, 
and  who  thus  has  a special  prestige  of  his  own,  securing  him  a 
hearing  where  others  would  fail  of  it,  guaranteeing  him  im- 
munity from  beating  in  open  court,  to  which  others  are  liable, 
and  enabling  him  to  prepare  accusations  for  himself  or  others, 
and  to  be  certain  of  the  bearing  of  these  documents  upon  the 
case  in  hand. 

These  advantages  are  so  great,  that  it  is  not  uncommon  to 
find  persons  who  make  no  secret  of  the  fact  that  their  main 
motive  in  submitting  to  the  toils  requisite  to  gain  the  lowest  lit- 
erary degree,  is  that  they  may  be  able,  during  the  rest  of  their 
lives,  to  make  use  of  this  leverage  as  a means  of  raising  them- 
selves and  of  harming  their  neighbours.  Any  Chinese  bully  is 
greatly  to  be  feared,  but  none  is  so  formidable  as  the  literary 
bully. 

One  other  type  of  Chinese  bully  must  not  fail  of  mention, 
for  it  is  in  some  respects  the  most  unique  of  all,  to  wit  the  fe- 
male bully.  Her  traits  are,  mutatis  mutandis,  the  same  as 
those  of  the  individuals  already  mentioned,  but  her  mere  ex- 
istence is  so  great  a departure  from  our  ordinary  conceptions 
of  Chinese  social  life,  that  it  needs  a word  of  explanation.  She 


220 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


is  simply  an  evolution  of  her  surroundings.  Skill  in  speech, 
physical  violence  in  act,  and  an  executive  talent  are  her  endow- 
ments, and  her  usefulness  to  the  perennially  hungry  “ wolves 
and  tigers  ’ ’ of  the  yamen  is  such  that  she  is  called  their 
draught-horse  to  draw  victims.  lake  her  male  compatriots,  she 
is  able  from  her  value  to  the  underlings  of  the  yamgn  to  con- 
duct a lawsuit  of  her  own,  without  any  of  those  numberless 
and  vexatious  expenses  which  suck  out  the  lifeblood  of  ordi- 
nary victims.  This  makes  her  a terrible,  if  not  an  invulnerable, 
foe,  and  those  who  are  wise  will  beware  of  her.  According  to 
a Chinese  proverb,  a woman  is  more  to  be  dreaded  in  such 
cases  than  a graduate  of  the  second  degree.  It  is  a saying  of 
a certain  humorous  philosopher,  that  “ one  hornet  can  break  up 
a whole  camp-meeting,  when  he  feels  well.”  How  much  mis- 
chief one  Chinese  bully  can  accomplish  in  an  average  lifetime, 
it  is  impossible  to  estimate. 

While  the  government  of  China  appears  to  have  elements  of 
extreme  stability,  it  is  at  the  same  time  often  practically  weak 
in  the  very  points  where  it  most  needs  strength,  namely,  in  its 
capacity  to  put  forth  powerful  and  sudden  efforts.  Whenever 
any  uprising  of  the  people  takes  place,  there  is  generally  noth- 
ing to  prevent  its  gaining  a great  momentum,  owing  to  the  in- 
capacity of  the  local  authorities  to  cope  with  it.  The  same 
phenomenon  is  seen  in  any  personal  affray  between  single  indi- 
viduals. There  are  no  police  to  arrest  the  one  who  commits  a 
breach  of  the  peace,  and  it  is  only  by  the  intervention  of  third 
parties,  friendly  to  the  principals,  that  order  is  restored.  But 
if  either  of  the  parties  is  able  to  bring  a large  force  to  bear 
upon  the  person  whom  he  attacks,  he  is  almost  certain  to  be 
victorious. 

It  is  at  this  point  that  the  organization  of  the  followers  of  the 
bully  proves  a formidable  foe  to  the  peace  of  Chinese  society. 
Let  us  suppose  that  a man  has  a violent  personal  quarrel  with 
an  enemy.  An  outbreak  of  their  feud  occurs  at  a great  fair, 
such  as  abound  at  almost  all  seasons  of  the  year.  One  of  the 


THE  VILLAGE  BULLY 


221 


men  is  intimate  with  another  man  who  is  a professional  bully 
and  who  has  within  call  a number  of  associates  who  can  be  de- 
pended upon  in  an  emergency.  The  man  who  knows  the  bully 
goes  to  him  and  tells  him  of  the  grievance  and  asks  his  help. 
The  bully  lets  it  be  known  among  his  comrades  that  a friend  is 
in  need  of  assistance,  and  that  their  services  will  be  called  for. 
The  party  assembled  goes  to  that  section  of  the  fair-ground 
where  congregate  the  dealers  in  sticks  used  for  supports  for 
awnings,  etc.,  and  each  man  “borrows  ” a stout  sapling,  prom- 
ising to  return  it  later.  With  this  lawless  band,  like  the  forces 
of  Robin  Hood,  the  bully  sets  upon  his  victim  and  wins  an 
easy  victory.  None  of  the  spectators  will  interfere  in  a brawl 
of  this  sort,  for  the  consequences  might  be  most  serious.  It 
does  not  follow  that  there  is  any  regular  organization  among 
the  rough  members  of  the  dangerous  classes  who  are  assembled, 
except  that  they  are  ready  to  unite  in  anything  which  promises 
the  joy  of  battle,  and  a probable  reward  in  the  shape  of  a com- 
plimentary feast. 

Cases  of  this  sort,  which  are  by  no  means  of  infrequent  oc- 
currence, exhibit  the  weakness  of  the  Chinese  government,  but 
they  also  exhibit  its  strength.  If  the  millions  of  China  were 
not  satisfied  with  the  existing  rule,  nothing  would  be  easier 
than  for  them  to  unite  and  overthrow  it.  But  the  security  of 
the  government  is  based  mainly  upon  the  well-understood  and 
well-ascertained  fact  that  the  people  as  a whole  have  no  wish  to 
overturn  the  system  under  which  they  live,  as  well  as  upon  the 
equally  indisputable  fact  that,  with  the  Chinese,  effective  combi- 
nation is  an  exceedingly  difficult  matter. 

The  assemblage  of  bands  of  men  under  the  virtual  direction 
of  a leader  is  a menace  to  the  peace  of  the  whole  region  in 
which  they  live,  and  it  is  not  strange  that  Magistrates  of  such 
Districts  live  a life  which  is  not  to  be  envied.  As  plunder  is 
often  the  real  object  of  these  combinations,  the  yamen  of  the 
Magistrate  is  as  likely  to  be  the  point  of  attack  as  any  other 
place,  which  makes  it  necessary  that  the  official  shall  provide 


222 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


himself  with  trained  athletes,  who  shall  be  able  to  meet  and  re- 
pel assaults  made  at  night.  Cases  are  occasionally  reported  in 
the  Pekitig  Gazette,  where  in  spite  of  this  precaution  the  yamen 
was  robbed,  and  the  seal  actually  carried  off,  to  the  ruin  of  the 
Magistrate,  upon  whom  perhaps  the  people  are  glad  to  be  re- 
venged. 

The  existence  of  such  small  and  lawless  forces  in  the  midst 
of  Chinese  social  life,  quiet  and  orderly  as  that  life  ordinarily 
is,  renders  it  certain  that  outbreaks  will  continually  occur.  But 
these  attacks  are  not  all  from  one  side.  There  are  in  Chinese 
many  proverbial  sayings  referring  to  the  tiger,  which  have  a 
metaphorical  significance,  and  really  denote  the  person  whom 
we  have  named  the  bully,  who  is  regarded  as  a social  tiger. 
One  of  these  sayings  is  to  the  effect  that  a tiger  who  has 
wounded  too  many  men,  is  liable  to  fall  into  a mountain  ra- 
vine. This  means  that  the  bully  who  has  made  enemies  of  too 
many  people  will  at  last  himself  fall  into  trouble,  and  then  his 
enemies  will  be  able  to  have  their  revenge  upon  him. 

Cases  of  this  sort  are  constantly  occurring,  and  often  result  in 
one  or  more  murders,  which  must  be  reported,  and  which  are 
sometimes  narrated  in  detail  in  the  Peking  Gazette.  It  is  not 
uncommon  to  hear  of  instances  in  which  bullies  have  been  at- 
tacked by  large  bands  of  men,  many  of  them  formerly  the  vic- 
tims of  the  bully.  Sometimes  he  is  kidnapped,  and  sometimes 
he  is  killed  outright.  The  method  by  which  the  village  wars 
and  clan  fights  of  the  Fu-kien  and  Kuang-tung  provinces  are 
conducted,  probably  bears  a close  analogy  to  these  proceedings. 
They  appear  to  be  trials  of  strength  between  neighbouring 
rivals,  conducted  upon  the  plan  of  warfare  during  the  middle 
ages  in  which  the  feudal  system  reigned.  The  local  Magis- 
trates take  care  not  to  interfere  too  soon  or  too  far,  lest  it  be 
the  worse  for  them.  When  the  fight  is  over  the  officers  put  in 
an  appearance,  arrests  are  made,  and  the  machinery  of  govern- 
ment recovers  from  its  temporary  paralysis. 

We  have  spoken  of  the  literary  bully  as  one  of  those  most  to 


THE  HILL  AGE  BULLY 


223 


be  dreaded  in  China.  But  there  is  another  qualification  which 
a bully  may  possess,  either  with  or  without  that  of  learning, 
which  makes  him  an  almost  irresistible  enemy.  If  he  belongs  to 
a family,  one  or  more  members  of  which  are  in  official  life  and 
have  a certain  degree  of  power  with  the  official  class,  such  a 
man  is  a dangerous  foe.  Instances  are  constantly  coming  to 
light,  not  only  in  the  native  papers  of  China  but  also  in  me- 
morials in  the  Peking  Gazette  (to  which  we  have  so  frequently 
had  occasion  to  refer),  showing  how  difficult,  or  rather  how  al- 
together hopeless,  it  is  to  deal  with  such  offenders.  Even  in 
cases  of  the  most  wanton  murder,  there  is  always  some  way  by 
which  the  matter  can  be  adjusted,  and  there  is  no  assurance 
that  the  influential  culprit  gets  any  real  punishment  at  all. 

The  following  instance  which  occurred  more  than  a genera- 
tion ago,  in  a District  near  to  that  in  which  the  writer  lived  for 
a long  time,  illustrates  the  kind  of  proceedings  to  which  refer- 
ence is  made. 

During  the  eighteenth  century  there  lived  in  that  County  a 
family  named  Lu,  one  of  the  members  of  which  attained  to  the 
lofty  eminence  of  Ko  Lao , or  Grand  Secretary.  A family  of 
this  class,  especially  if  it  should  be  the  only  one  of  the  sort  in 
the  District,  exerts  a commanding  influence,  and  it  is  necessary 
for  the  local  Magistrate  to  conduct  himself  discreetly,  in  order 
not  to  win  the  ill-will  of  such  a powerful  corporation.  It  is 
well  if  he  is  able  to  collect  from  them  even  the  ordinary  land- 
tax,  which  all  the  soil  of  the  empire  is  supposed  to  pay. 

It  is  related  of  this  family  that,  upon  one  occasion  having 
been  ordered  by  the  District  Magistrate  to  collect  this  tax,  the 
local  constable  was  unable  to  do  as  he  was  told.  Having  been 
repeatedly  beaten  for  his  delinquencies  in  this  respect,  he  pre- 
sented himself  at  the  entrance  of  the  premises  of  his  wealthy 
neighbour,  and  with  earnest  prostrations  begged  the  gate- 
keeper to  intercede  for  him,  and  get  the  tax  paid. 

The  elderly  widow  who  was  the  manager  of  the  establish- 
ment, having  been  informed  of  this  plea,  ordered  her  cart 


224 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


harnessed,  and  proceeded  to  the  District  Magistrate’s  yam&n, 
for  an  interview.  The  official  perhaps  entertained  a wild  hope 
that  she  had  come  to  settle  up  her  arrears  of  taxes,  and  even 
planned  to  borrow  a sum  of  money  of  her,  but  she  soon  dis- 
pelled this  idea,  by  telling  him  in  so  many  words  that  she  her- 
self required  a “ loan  ” of  a certain  number  of  thousands  of 
tsels,  which  the  Magistrate  was  obliged  to  promise  to  get  for 
her,  at  the  earliest  possible  moment.  As  she  rose  to  take  her 
leave,  she  remarked  incidentally  that  her  gatekeeper  had  been 
much  annoyed  by  some  of  the  yam6n  underlings  who  hung 
about  the  premises  under  pretence  of  wanting  a grain-tax,  ad- 
ding that  she  should  expect  to  hear  no  more  of  such  proceed- 
ings in  future  ! 

Upon  another  occasion,  while  the  Ko  Lao  himself  was 
alive,  a complaint  was  made  to  the  District  Magistrate  that  a 
son  of  the  Ko  Lao  had  a maidservant,  who  was  virtually  im- 
prisoned in  the  family  mansion.  She  was  originally  hired 
having  been  betrothed,  but  although  it  was  time  for  her  to  be 
married,  her  employer  refused  to  let  her  go.  The  Magistrate 
sent  for  the  son  of  the  Ko  Lao,  made  known  the  charge,  and 
desired  the  release  of  the  person  detained.  He  even  went  to 
the  length  of  beating  the  attendant  of  the  Lu  family,  who  had 
accompanied  his  master,  the  latter  being  himself  too  lofty  a 
subject  for  punishment.  The  son  went  to  his  home  in  a tower- 
ing rage,  and  wrote  a letter  to  his  father  in  Peking,  detailing 
the  circumstances.  Soon  after  this,  the  Magistrate  received 
the  news  of  his  promotion  from  the  grade  of  Sub-prefect  to  that 
of  Prefect,  in  the  province  of  Ssu-ch‘uan. 

The  journey  to  a new  post  is  often  a most  serious  matter  for 
an  official,  and  where,  as  in  this  case,  he  has  the  entire  empire 
to  cross,  the  trouble  and  expense  are  very  great.  He  had  no 
sooner  reached  this  distant  post,  than  he  received  a notification 
that  he  was  promoted  to  another  in  the  province  of  Yiin-nan, 
again  involving  an  expensive  and  tedious  journey.  When  he 
had  at  length  taken  up  the  duties  of  this  office  it  was  only  to 


THE  VILLAGE  BULLY 


225 


be  informed  that  he  was  promoted  afresh  to  the  high  rank  of 
Tao-t‘ai  in  a region  beyond  the  Great  Wall.  He  now  began 
to  perceive  the  significance  of  this  strange  series  of  events,  and 
wholly  unable  either  to  bear  the  ills  which  he  already  had,  or 
to  support  the  prospect  of  perhaps  greater  ones  yet  to  come,  he 
“swallowed  gold,”  and  thus  escaped  further  promotion  and 
ruin  ! 


XXI 


VILLAGE  HEADMEN 

AT  ANY  of  the  phenomena  of  village  life  which  we  shall 
have  occasion  to  notice,  are  instances  of  the  Chinese 
talent  for  cooperation. 

Perhaps  no  more  important  exemplification  of  this  prin- 
ciple is  to  be  found  in  Chinese  society  than  that  embodied 
in  the  local  self-government  of  the  small  communities  of 
which  the  greater  part  of  the  empire  is  composed.  The 
management  of  the  village  is  in  the  hands  of  the  people  them- 
selves. At  first  this  condition  of  affairs  is  liable  to  be  mistaken 
for  a pure  democracy,  but  very  slight  inquiry  is  sufficient  to 
make  it  evident  that  while  all  matters  of  local  concern  are  theo- 
retically managed  by  the  people,  in  practice  the  burden  falls 
not  upon  the  people  as  a whole,  but  upon  the  shoulders  of  a 
few  persons,  who  in  different  places  are  called  by  different 
titles  and  whose  functions  differ  as  much  as  their  designations. 

The  apparent  dead-level  uniformity  of  China  is  found  upon 
investigation  to  be  subject  to  surprising  variations,  not  only  in 
parts  of  the  empire  remote  from  one  another,  but  in  those  which 
are  separated  by  but  a short  distance.  On  this  account  it  is 
difficult  to  generalize  in  regard  to  the  government  of  villages  in 
general,  but  easy  to  describe  that  of  some  villages,  with  the  ex- 
planation that  elsewhere  the  same  results  may  be  attained  by 
means  slightly  different,  or  by  the  same  means  under  different 
names. 

Every  Chinese  village  is  a little  principality  by  itself,  al- 
though it  is  not  uncommon  for  two  or  more  which  are  contigu- 
ous and  perhaps  otherwise  linked  together,  to  manage  their 
affairs  in  unison,  and  perhaps  by  the  same  set  of  persons. 

226 


VILLAGE  HEADMEN 


227 


These  headmen  are  sometimes  styled  village  elders  {hsiang 
chang,  or  hsiang  lad),  and  sometimes  they  are  termed  merely 
managers  ( shou  shih  jeri).  The  theory  in  regard  to  these  per- 
sons is  that  they  are  chosen,  or  rather  nominated,  by  their  fel- 
low-townsmen, and  confirmed  in  their  position  by  the  District 
Magistrate.  In  some  regions  this  is  actually  done,  and  for  the 
good  conduct  of  the  headmen  in  their  office  the  leading  land- 
owners  are  required  to  become  a security. 

The  designation  “village  elders”  might  be  understood  to 
denote  that  the  persons  who  bear  it  are  the  oldest  men  in  the 
village,  but  this  is  not  necessarily  the  case.  Neither  are  they 
necessarily  the  wealthiest  men,  although  it  is  probable  that 
every  family  of  property  will  be  in  some  way  represented  among 
them.  They  are  not  necessarily  men  of  literary  attainments, 
although  this  may  be  the  case  with  a few. 

In  those  regions  where  the  method  of  selection  is  most  loose, 
the  number  of  headmen  has  no  necessary  relation  to  the  size  of 
the  village  ; the  position  is  not  hereditary,  neither  is  there  any 
fixed  time  of  service.  A man  may  act  in  this  capacity  at  one 
time,  and  refuse  or  neglect  to  do  so  at  another  time.  Where 
this  plan  prevails,  the  headmen  are  not  formally  chosen,  nor 
formally  deposed.  They  drop  into  their  places — or  perhaps 
climb  into  them — by  a kind  of  natural  selection.  The  quali- 
ties which  fit  a villager  to  act  as  headman  are  the  same  which 
contribute  to  success  in  any  line  of  business.  He  must  be  a 
practical  person  who  has  some  native  ability,  acquainted  with 
the  ways  of  the  world,  as  well  as  able  and  willing  to  devote 
upon  occasion  an  indefinite  amount  of  time  and  attention  to  the 
affairs  which  may  be  put  in  his  charge. 

The  duties  and  functions  of  the  headmen  are  numerous. 
They  may  be  classified  as  those  which  have  relation  to  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  District,  those  which  relate  to  the  village  as 
such,  and  those  which  concern  private  individuals,  and  are 
brought  to  the  notice  of  the  headmen  as  being  the  persons  best 
able  to  manage  them. 


228 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


Of  the  affairs  which  concern  the  government,  the  most  im- 
portant is  the  imperial  land  or  grain-tax,  the  nature  of  which 
and  the  mode  of  collecting  which  vary  greatly.  Calls  are  con- 
stantly made  by  the  local  officials  for  government  transporta- 
tion, provision  for  the  entertainment  of  officers  on  government 
business,  materials  for  the  repairs  of  the  banks  of  rivers,  work 
on  river-banks,  patrols  for  the  Imperial  roads  at  the  season  of 
year  when  travel  is  at  its  maximum,  and  many  other  similar 
objects. 

The  medium  through  whom  the  District  Magistrate  com- 
municates with  the  village,  is  the  “local  constable,”  (called 
the  ii-fang  or  ti-pao,')  and  this  individual  has  necessarily  inti- 
mate relations  with  the  headmen,  who  constitute  the  executive 
board,  through  which  alone  definite  action  is  taken. 

Among  affairs  which  relate  to  a village  as  such,  are  to  be 
named  the  construction  and  repair  of  the  wall  (if  it  has  one), 
and  the  care  of  the  gates  (if  they  are  closed  at  night),  the  es- 
tablishment and  supervision  of  fairs  and  markets,  the  engage- 
ment of  theatrical  companies,  the  organized  watching  of  the 
crops,  together  with  the  punishment  of  persons  detected  in  vio- 
lating the  rules  which  have  been  agreed  upon,  the  building  and 
repair  of  temples,  the  sinking  of  wells  for  the  use  of  the  village, 
or  the  cleaning  of  those  which  are  already  in  use,  and  a great 
variety  of  other  similar  duties,  depending  upon  the  situation  of 
the  village  and  its  traditions  and  circumstances. 

It  is  a noteworthy  fact  that  the  government  of  China,  while 
in  theory  more  or  less  despotic,  places  no  practical  restrictions 
upon  the  right  of  free  assemblage  by  the  people  for  the  consid- 
eration of  their  own  affairs.  The  people  of  any  village  can  if 
they  choose  meet  every  day  in  the  year.  There  is  no  govern- 
ment censor  present,  and  no  restriction  upon  liberty  of  debate. 
The  people  can  say  what  they  like,  and  the  local  Magistrate 
neither  knows  nor  cares  what  is  said.  The  government  has 
other  security  for  itself  than  espionage,  and  by  a system  of 
graded  responsibility,  is  able  to  hold  all  its  subjects  under  strict 


VILLAGE  HEADMEN 


229 


control.  But  should  insurrection  break  out,  these  popular 
rights  might  be  extinguished  in  a moment,  a fact  of  which  all 
the  people  are  perfectly  well  aware. 

The  methods  of  Chinese  management  being  what  they  are,  it 
is  not  surprising  that  those  who  are  in  the  position  of  headmen 
find  it,  or  rather  make  it  to  their  advantage  to  stay  in  it.  The 
ways  in  which  this  comes  about  are  numerous. 

There  is  in  every  village  an  unceasing  supply  of  matters 
which  do  not  belong  to  the  public,  but  which  must  be  adjusted 
by  some  man  or  men  who  are  in  the  habit  of  transacting  busi- 
ness, and  who  not  only  know  what  is  to  be  done  but  how  to  do 
it.  There  are  always  Chinese  who  like  to  engage  in  these  af- 
fairs, such  as  the  adjustment  of  domestic  quarrels,  differences 
between  neighbours,  and  the  like.  The  headmen  of  the  village 
will  be  certain  to  be  frequently  called  upon  for  services  of  this  sort. 

But  such  labours,  onerous  as  they  often  are,  will  be  acknowl- 
edged only  by  the  thanks  of  those  interested,  and  a participa- 
tion in  the  inevitable  final  feast.  It  is  quite  otherwise  with 
such  public  matters  as  the  collection  of  material  for  public  uses, 
and  the  disbursement  of  public  funds.  Every  village  has  nu- 
merous enterprises  which  involve  the  handling  of  money,  and 
these  enterprises  must  be  in  the  hands  of  those  competent  to 
take  charge  of  them. 

There  is  not  in  such  cases  that  constant  struggle  between  the 
“ins”  and  the  “outs,”  which  is  seen  in  lands  where  the  de- 
mocracy is  of  a more  flagrant  type  than  in  China.  Yet  even 
in  China  such  contests  do  sometimes  occur.  We  know  of  one 
village  in  which  the  public  business  had  for  a long  time  been 
monopolized  by  a band  of  men  who  had  subjected  themselves 
to  the  criticisms  of  those  who,  although  younger,  felt  sure  that 
they  were  not  on  that  account  the  less  capable.  The  result  of 
the  criticisms  was  that  the  incumbents  withdrew  from  their 
places,  leaving  them  to  those  who  offered  the  criticisms,  a 
method  of  adjustment  which  is  known  to  be  practiced  in  the 
government  of  the  empire. 


230 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


But  it  is  probable  that  cases  of  such  easy  victory  are  relatively 
rare,  for  the  reason  that  the  “ins”  have  every  opportunity  to 
keep  themselves  in  their  position,  and  they  are  for  the  most 
part  not  at  all  sensitive  to  criticism,  being  quite  content  to  reap 
the  substantial  benefits  of  their  position,  and  to  leave  the  talk- 
ing to  spectators.  In  the  ordinary  matters  of  routine,  it  is  easy 
for  them  to  find  abundant  precedents  for  almost  any  irregular- 
ity, and  to  the  Chinese  precedents  are  most  precious,  as  mark- 
ing out  the  natural  limits  of  human  action. 

In  many  villages  but  a small  portion  of  the  population  can 
read  well  enough  to  inspect  accounts,  and  many  of  those  whose 
knowledge  is  equal  to  this  strain  upon  it,  have  no  practical 
familiarity  with  public  business,  with  which  they  have  never 
had  any  opportunity  to  become  acquainted. 

Many  who  clearly  recognize  the  evils  attending  the  methods 
in  which  the  business  of  their  village  is  managed,  do  not  for 
two  excellent  reasons  make  any  protest.  In  the  first  place,  to 
do  so  would  raise  a storm  about  their  heads,  which  they  have 
no  wish  to  encounter.  Even  if  the  movement  should  prove 
completely  successful,  and  the  present  incumbents  should  all  be 
removed  from  their  places,  it  would  be  difficult,  not  to  say  im- 
possible, to  find  others  who  would  manage  matters  upon  any 
plan  essentially  different.  A change  would  be  simply  the  re- 
moval of  a well-fed  swarm  of  flies,  to  make  way  for  a set  much 
more  hungry,  a substitution  against  which  the  fox  in  the  fable 
wisely  remonstrated.  The  Chinese  wholly  agree  with  the  saga- 
cious fox. 

The  course  which  matters  take  when  complaint  is  really 
made,  may  be  understood  by  an  illustrative  example  with 
which  the  writer  is  acquainted.  During  one  of  the  years  in 
which  the  Yellow  River  made  destructive  breaks  in  central 
Shan-tung,  an  order  was  issued  that  all  the  counties  in  the 
province  accessible  to  the  river  should  furnish  a certain  quota 
of  millet  stalks  to  be  used  in  the  repair  of  the  river-banks. 
These  stalks  were  to  be  paid  for  in  ready  money  by  the  govern- 


VILLAGE  HEADMEN 


23* 


ment  agents.  But  as  some  of  the  counties  were  situated  more 
than  two  days’  journey  from  the  river-banks,  the  amount  re- 
ceived for  the  stalks  did  not  cover  the  cost  of  the  feed  of  men 
and  animals  for  so  long  a journey.  Besides  this,  the  govern- 
ment officials  had  a ready  means  by  which  to  exercise  com- 
plete control  over  those  who  brought  the  stalks,  by  refusing  to 
take  over  the  material  or  to  weigh  it  until  such  time  as  the 
officials  might  be  ready.  By  this  means,  both  men  and  teams 
were  kept  on  expense,  so  that  at  last  the  persons  who  hauled 
stalks  were  only  too  glad  to  be  allowed  to  depart  without  any 
pay  at  all  for  the  loads  which  they  had  brought. 

Abuses  of  this  sort  were  said  to  be  exceedingly  common  at 
that  time,  although  on  subsequent  occasions  we  have  been  as- 
sured by  those  who  have  taken  stalks  to  river-embankment, 
that  full  pay  in  good  money  was  invariably  given.  In  the  vil- 
lage to  which  we  refer,  the  business  of  providing  and  deliver- 
ing the  stalks  was  put  by  the  District  Magistrate  into  the  hands 
of  an  elderly  headman,  a literary  graduate.  This  man  natur- 
ally called  about  him  some  of  his  former  pupils,  who  did  the 
practical  part  of  the  work.  They  took  stalks  three  times  to  the 
place  of  deposit,  and  received  in  payment  about  70,000 
cash.  Taking  advantage  of  the  general  uncertainty  which 
prevailed  in  regard  to  payments,  these  managers  rendered  no 
accounts  to  the  village,  but  proceeded  to  appropriate  a certain 
part  of  their  receipts  to  their  own  use. 

Matters  continued  in  this  way  for  more  than  a year,  when 
some  of  those  who  were  dissatisfied,  called  a public  meeting  in 
a village  temple,  and  demanded  a clear  account  of  receipts  and 
expenses,  which  for  reasons  well  understood,  it  was  impossible 
to  give.  Finding  that  the  affair  was  becoming  serious,  the 
graduate  got  some  residents  of  the  same  village  to  “ talk  peace  ” 
to  the  excited  villagers.  Their  argument  was  this : “ If  we 
press  this  matter,  and  take  it  before  the  District  Magistrate, 
the  old  graduate,  who  is  really  altogether  innocent,  will  lose 
his  button  and  will  be  disgraced.  The  others  concerned  will 


232 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


all  be  beaten,  and  this  will  engender  hatred  and  feuds  which 
will  last  for  generations.”  The  middlemen  then  proposed  that 
by  way  of  settlement  a feast  should  be  prepared  by  the  grad- 
uate, at  which  a representative  of  every  surname  in  the  village 
should  be  present,  and  this  plan  being  adopted,  because  noth- 
ing else  was  feasible,  the  matter  was  buried  in  compulsory 
oblivion.  This  is  a type  of  a large  class  of  cases. 

In  many  villages,  there  are  those  who  are  never  so  happy  as 
when  they  are  in  a disturbance  with  others,  and  such  men  will 
be  a thorn  in  the  side  of  any  “board  of  aldermen  ” to  whose 
councils  admission  is  not  to  be  had.  It  is  very  common  indeed 
to  hear  of  lawsuits  arising  about  village  temples,  and  there  is 
good  reason  to  believe  that  it  is  exceptional  to  meet  with  a 
large  ancestral  temple,  in  connection  with  which  quarrels  have 
not  arisen  and  perhaps  lawsuits  been  prosecuted. 

In  some  districts  the  temples  are  built  rather  from  a general 
impulse  to  do  as  others  do  than  from  any  sense  of  the  need  of 
such  structures,  which  become  a perpetual  tax  on  the  revenues 
of  the  people  and  a source  of  dispute.  In  such  regions  it  is  a 
common  thing  to  meet  with  temples  from  which  the  priests 
have  been  ousted,  or  which  they  have  voluntarily  abandoned, 
finding  the  place  too  hot  for  them. 

In  one  instance  of  this  description,  which  occurred  near  the 
writer’s  home,  a certain  prominent  headman  set  on  foot  a law- 
suit which  drove  several  priests  from  a Buddhist  monastery, 
and  left  only  one  priest  where  before  there  had  been  many. 
After  the  priests  had  left,  this  headman  kindly  took  charge  of 
the  temple  lands,  and  absorbed  the  entire  income  himself  to 
the  exclusion  of  the  priest,  dispensing  altogether  with  rendering 
any  account  whatever  for  the  proceeds.  Even  the  cart  and  the 
harness  which  belong  to  the  temple,  are  in  this  man’s  yard  as 
if  they  were  his  own. 

Intelligent  men  of  this  village,  when  asked  why  some  of  them 
do  not  protest  against  this  usurpation,  always  make  the  same 
reply:  “Who  wants  to  stir  up  a lawsuit,  out  of  which  he  will 


VILLAGE  HEADMEN 


233 


gain  nothing  but  loss?  It  is  certainly  no  affair  of  mine.” 
This  particular  village  is  scarcely  a type  of  the  average,  but  it 
is  a very  fair  sample  of  the  more  flagrant  cases  in  which  a small 
knot  of  men  fasten  themselves  upon  a Chinese  community,  by 
the  same  process  by  which  many  years  ago  the  Tweed  ring 
saddled  themselves  upon  the  city  of  New  York.  If  any  objec- 
tion is  made  to  their  procedure,  the  ring  inquire  disdainfully, 
in  the  language  of  Mr.  Tweed,  “What  are  you  going  to  do 
about  it?”  And  all  the  people  hasten  to  reply,  “Oh,  nothing 
at  all.  It  is  all  right  as  it  is.” 

An  instance  of  the  facility  with  which  trouble  may  arise  in 
village  affairs  was  afforded  in  this  same  town,  during  one  of 
the  years  in  which  heavy  rains  threatened  the  lands  of  the  vil- 
lage. A part  of  these  lands  were  situated  in  a region  subject 
to  inundation,  and  the  rest  on  higher  ground.  As  soon  as  the 
danger  of  a flood  became  apparent,  the  village  headmen  ordered 
relays  of  men  to  work  on  a bank,  which  was  made  of  whatever 
soil  was  at  hand,  and  in  order  to  strengthen  this  bank,  the  stand- 
ing millet  was  pulled  up  by  the  roots,  and  buried  in  the  earth- 
work. Those  whose  crops  were  thus  ruined,  had  for  this  loss 
no  redress  whatever.  It  is  held  that  the  exigency  of  a public 
need  justifies  any  injury  of  this  kind,  the  persons  who  benefit 
by  the  sacrifice,  always  largely  in  the  majority,  having  no  dis- 
position to  make  up  the  incidental  losses.  Some  days  after  this 
occurred,  the  headmen  went  about  collecting  a definite  assess- 
ment from  each  acre  of  land  in  the  village,  for  the  purpose  of 
paying  for  the  labour  upon  the  bank  previously  made.  They 
visited  the  house  of  one  of  the  men  whose  crops  had  been  de- 
stroyed, at  a time  when  he  chanced  to  be  away  from  home  and 
were  met  by  his  son,  who  not  only  manifested  no  awe  of  the 
village  authorities,  but  expressed  his  indignation  at  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  family  crops,  and  declared  that  instead  of  being 
called  upon  to  contribute  to  the  cost  of  the  ruin  which  had 
been  wrought,  his  family  ought  to  be  reimbursed  for  their  own 
losses.  However  compatible  such  a view  may  appear  with  ab- 


234 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


stract  justice,  to  the  minds  of  the  village  headmen  this  was 
nothing  less  than  rank  treason  of  the  most  dangerous  type. 

When  the  head  of  the  family  returned,  it  was  to  find  that  the, 
headmen  had  already  left  the  village  on  their  way  to  the  Dis- 
trict city,  to  enter  a complaint  against  him,  as  one  who  refused 
to  pay  his  just  dues  to  the  defence  of  the  village.  A lawsuit 
begun  upon  such  a basis  meant  nothing  less  than  a calamity 
greater  than  any  flood  that  was  likely  to  overtake  him,  so  the 
distracted  father  hastened  to  pursue  the  headmen  with  offers  of 
adjustment,  made  through  third  parties.  By  dint  of  an  im- 
mense amount  of  talking,  the  headmen  were  induced  to  return 
to  the  village,  without  entering  the  city  and  making  a formal 
complaint. 

The  father  of  the  offending  lad  then  appealed  to  certain 
friends  living  in  another  village,  to  come  and  intercede  for  him 
with  the  outraged  guardians  of  the  welfare  of  his  own  village. 
In  the  course  of  the  next  forenoon,  the  persons  who  had  been 
entrusted  with  this  difficult  task,  made  their  way  to  the  village, 
and  had  interviews  with  some  of  the  headmen.  It  was  impos- 
sible to  get  all  of  these  men  together  at  any  one  time,  but  one  set 
was  first  seen,  and  then  another,  until  the  matter  had  been 
thoroughly  discussed  in  all  its  bearings.  These  conferences, 
including  plans  of  adjustment  offered,  modified,  rejected, 
amended,  and  afterward  brought  up  again  and  again,  actually 
consumed  the  whole  day,  and  all  the  next  night  until  the  crow- 
ing of  the  cocks  announced  the  dawn,  and  it  was  not  until  day- 
light on  the  second  day,  that  the  weary  and  disgusted  “ mid- 
dlemen ” returned  to  their  own  village,  having  at  last  succeeded 
in  securing  a reduction  of  the  proposed  fine,  which  was  to  have 
been  an  exemplary  one,  to  a merely  nominal  amount. 

This  instance  is  a type  of  countless  cases  everywhere  in 
which  the  evil  forces  of  Chinese  society  effect  a cooperation  of 
their  own,  seriously  modifying  all  other  social  phenomena,  and 
leading  to  results  of  great  importance. 


PART  II 

Village  Family  Life 


XXII 


VILLAGE  BOYS  AND  MEN 

*T<  HERE  is  a passage  in  one  of  the  oldest  Chinese 
Classics,  the  Book  of  Odes,  which,  in  describing  the 
palace  of  an  ancient  king,  shows  in  a.  striking  light  the  rela- 
tive estimation  at  that  remote  time  put  upon  boys  and  upon  girls. 
After  speaking  of  the  dreams  of  the  king,  the  poet  adds  a cou- 
ple of  stanzas,  which,  according  to  Dr.  Legge’s  translation,  are 
as  follows  : 

Sons  shall  be  born  to  him ; they  will  be  put  to  sleep  on  couches ; 

They  will  be  clothed  in  robes ; they  will  have  sceptres  to  play  with ; 

Their  cry  will  be  loud. 

They  will  be  (hereafter)  resplendent  with  red  knee-covers, 

The  (future)  king,  the  princes  of  the  land. 

Daughters  will  be  born  to  him.  They  will  be  put  to  sleep  on  the  ground  ; 

They  will  be  clothed  with  wrappers ; they  will  have  tiles  to  play  with. 

It  will  be  theirs  neither  to  do  wrong  nor  to  do  good. 

Only  about  the  spirits  and  the  food  will  they  have  to  think, 

And  to  cause  no  sorrow  to  their  parents. 

From  the  sentiment  of  this  poem  alone  it  would  be  easy  to 
determine  the  Chinese  of  to-day  to  be  lineal  descendants  of 
their  ancient  ancestors. 

The  early  years  of  a Chinese  boy  are  spent  in  what,  viewed 
from  the  experience  of  a decade  later,  must  appear  to  him  a 
condition  of  supreme  happiness.  He  is  welcomed  to  the 
household  with  a wild  delight,  to  which  it  is  wholly  impossible 
for  an  Occidental  to  do  any  justice.  He  begins  life  on  the 
theory  that  whatever  he  wants,  that  he  must  have  ; this  theory 
is  also  the  one  acted  upon  by  those  who  have  him  in  charge,  to 

237 


238 


VILL/1GE  LIFE  IN  CHIN/I 


an  extent  which  seems  to  us,  who  occupy  the  position  of  im- 
partial critics,  truly  amazing.  A Chinese  mother  is  the  literal  ' 
slave  of  her  children.  If  they  cry,  they  must  be  coddled,  ^ 
most  probably  carried  about,  and  at  whatever  expense,  if  it  is 
possible  to  prevent  such  a terrible  state  of  things.  They  must 
not  be  allowed  to  cry  continuously.  In  this  respect,  at  least,  it 
does  not  appear  that  there  is  much  distinction  between  the 
treatment  of  boys  and  girls. 

The  names  given  to  Chinese  children,  like  those  of  the 
babies  of  North  American  Indians,  are  frequently  suggested  by 
whatever  happens  first  to  attract  the  father’s  attention,  such  as 
Basket,  Cart,  etc.  Each  year  of  the  cycle  of  twelve  has  an 
animal  which  “belongs  to”  it,  as  Dog,  Cat,  Chicken,  Tiger, 
Horse  or  Monkey,  and  all  these  names  are  constantly  em- 
ployed. If  when  the  child  is  born  an  old  grandmother  hap- 
pens to  be  three  score  and  ten,  he  is  not  improbably  dubbed 
“Seventy.”  Many  have  no  other  appellation  than  a numer- 
ical one  such  as  Three,  Five,  or  Six,  to  the  hopeless  confusion 
of  an  inquirer.  If  the  child  seems  to  be  of  a good  constitution 
he  may  receive  the  title  of  Stone,  or  Solid.  Should  he  be 
plump,  he  is  likely  to  be  styled  Little  Fat  One  ; if  dark  coloured, 
Little  Black  One.  Bad  Temper,  and  Little  Idiot  are  common, 
and  if  all  the  previous  children  have  died,  the  last  one  may  go 
by  the  name  of  Great  Repairs. 

When  the  parents  are  peculiarly  fearful  lest  an  only  boy 
should  be  made  away  with  by  malicious  spirits,  they  often  call 
him  by  a girl’s  name  in  order  to  deceive  the  powers  of  evil,  and 
thus  beat  them  at  their  own  game.  Another  plan  with  the 
same  end  in  view  is  a nominal  adoption  into  another  family, 
where  the  children  spend  at  least  a portion  of  their  time,  the 
spirits  being  thus  hopelessly  perplexed  as  to  which  family  really 
owns  the  child  ! Slave  Girl,  and  Old  Woman  are  names 
sometimes  given  to  boys  under  these  conditions.  A man  who 
had  more  girls  than  he  desired,  called  one  of  them  Enough 
Hawks  (Kou  Ying),  while  another  little  maid  was  outfitted  with 


VILLAGE  BOYS  AND  MEN 


239 


the  happy  title  “ Ought-to-have-been-a-Boy  ” (Kai  Tzu). 
Girls  are  frequently  named  for  birds,  fruits,  and  flowers. 

All  the  preceding  are  “milk-names,”  or  “small  names,” 
which  strangers  must  be  careful  even  should  they  know  them, 
never  to  employ.  No  greater  insult  can  be  put  upon  an  adult  Chi- 
nese than  to  revile  him  in  public  by  his  “ small  name  ” — a by  no 
means  infrequent  occurrence — which  seems  to  convey  the  im- 
plication that  the  reviler  knows  all  about  his  antecedents  and 
holds  them  in  supreme  contempt. 

It  is  a highly  convenient  arrangement  of  Chinese  family  no- 
menclature, that  the  names  of  each  member  of  the  same  gen- 
eration (within  certain  defined  degrees  of  cousinship)  furnish  a 
clue  to  his  relationship  to  the  rest.  Thus,  if  a man’s  surname 
is  Wang,  his  family  name  (which  can  be  either  two  charac- 
ters or  one)  may  be  compounded  with  the  character  denoting 
Spring,  in  which  case  one  brother  might  be  called  Wang 
Spring-Flowers,  the  next  Wang  Spring-Fragrance,  a third 
W?ng  Spring-Fields,  and  so  universally  for  that  generation  as 
far  away  among  the  cousins  as  the  Spring  influence  penetrates. 
These  family  names  are  theoretically  recorded  in  carefully  kept 
registers,  and  must  not  be  repeated  in  later  generations,  or  only 
after  the  lapse  of  a due  number  of  generations.  Memorials 
sometimes  appear  in  the  Peking  Gazette  from  high  officials  ask- 
ing permission  to  have  a family  name  altered,  since  a repeated 
title  has  inadvertently  been  taken. 

This  use  of  the  same  characters  in  Chinese  family  names  has 
often  been  compared  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  habit  of  bestowing  upon 
brothers  names  of  which  one  syllable  is  constant,  as  Edward, 
Edwin,  Edmund,  Edgar,  etc. 

Besides  the  name,  there  is  the  “style,”  often  much  more  in 
use  than  any  other  designation,  which  may  be  bestowed  upon 
the  owner  by  a friend.  It  is  common  by  a respectful  familiarity 
to  prefix  to  the  first  character  of  the  style,  the  honourific  “ Old,” 
{Lao)  making  still  another  title.  Thus  supposing  Mr.  Wang 
Spring-Fragrance  has  the  style  of  Illustrious  Virtue,  his  com- 


240 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


mon  appellation  may  be  Wang  Old  Illustrious,  his  other  names 
being  used  as  alternatives.  The  result  of  all  this  is  that  a sin- 
gle Chinese  not  infrequently  appears  to  be  three  and  sometimes 
four,  since  students  have  also  their  examination  names,  differ- 
ing, strange  to  say,  from  any  which  they  have  hitherto  borne. 
The  confusion  attending  the  addressing  of  Chinese  letters  in 
correspondence  would  be  intolerable  to  an  Occidental. 

Aside  from  the  ambiguities  already  mentioned,  it  sometimes 
appears  to  the  writer  of  a letter  a happy  expedient  to  employ  a 
title  on  the  back  of  his  epistle,  known  only  to  himself  and  to 
the  recipient,  to  the  great  bewilderment  of  the  persons  through 
whose  hands  the  missive  may  pass.  We  have  seen  a Chinese 
teacher  invited  to  inspect  the  address  of  a letter  of  this  sort, 
the  destination  of  which  neither  he  nor  any  one  else  could  de- 
cide. Yet  it  subsequently  turned  out  that  the  epistle  was  meant 
for  his  own  son  ! With  all  this  labyrinth  of  future  complexity 
the  village  boy  is  very  little  concerned,  often  passing  through 
life  without  any  name  at  all  to  speak  of. 

In  this  connection  it  is  worth  noting  that  the  foreigner  in 
China  suffers  from  a chronic  embarrassment  as  to  how  to  ad- 
dress a Chinese.  There  is  in  the  language  no  term  answering 
to  our  Mister  or  Master,  the  nearest  equivalent  being  the  words 
Elder-born  or  Seignor  ( Hsien-sheng ).  The  expression  prop- 
erly connotes  a Teacher  in  reality  or  by  courtesy,  and  although 
applied  indiscriminately  to  blind  men  (even  if  they  should  be 
beggars)  will  not  serve  for  general  use.  Honourific  terms  abound, 
but  in  the  rural  regions  these  are  not  in  use,  and  are  but  dimly 
comprehensible.  On  the  principle  that  “Within  the  four  seas 
all  are  brethren,  ” it  is  the  Chinese  habit  to  assume  the  existence 
of  a relationship,  so  that  the  passing  stranger  may  appropri- 
ately call  out  to  one  whom  he  has  never  seen  before : “ Great 
elder-brother  may  I borrow  your  light  and  inquire  whether 
this  is  the  right  road  to  Peking  ? ’ ’ Should  the  person  ad- 
dressed be  an  old  man,  the  title  would  be  changed  to  Uncle  or 
Grandfather.  The  fact  that  the  term  for  an  older  uncle  differs 


VILLAGE  BOYS  AND  MEN 


241 


from  that  for  a younger  one,  embarrasses  the  foreigner  by  forcing 
upon  him  a decision  of  the  difficult  question  which  one  to  use, 
for  deciding  which  point  he  often  has  absolutely  no  data. 

A Chinese  married  woman  has  literally  no  name  at  all,  but 
only  two  surnames,  her  husband’s  and  her  father’s,  so  that 
when  these  chance  to  be  common  ones,  it  is  impossible  by  this 
means  to  discriminate  one  woman  from  another.  If  Chinese 
women  are  to  be  addressed  by  strangers  at  all,  there  is  even 
more  embarrassment  than  in  the  case  of  men.  In  some  regions 
the  term  Elder-sister-in-law  ( sao-tzii ) serves  indiscriminately 
for  any  woman,  but  in  others  Aunt  ( ta-niang ) must  be  used, 
while  in  yet  others  nothing  is  appropriate  but  Grandmother 
(nai-nai)  which  elsewhere  would  be  equivalent  to  Old  Granny. 
When  there  happen  to  be  three  generations  of  women  in  the 
same  family  to  dub  them  all  “ Grandmother  ” (especially  if  one 
of  them  is  a girl  in  her  teens  just  married)  is  flagrantly  absurd. 
Beggars  at  the  other  gates  clamour  to  have  their  “ Aunts  ” be- 
stow a little  food,  and  the  phrase  Old  Lady  (lao  T‘ai-t‘ai ) is 
in  constant  use  for  any  woman  past  middle  life. 

The  age  at  which  a boy  is  too  large  to  be  carried  is  a very 
indefinite  one,  and  it  is  common  to  see  distracted  mothers  stag- 
gering with  their  little  goat-feet  under  the  weight  of  children 
half  their  own  size,  lugging  their  offspring  about  for  the  reason 
that  “ they  would  not  stand  it  ” to  be  put  down.  A prepara- 
tory discipline  of  this  nature  is  not  adapted  to  teach  children 
independence,  self-control,  or  any  useful  lessons,  and  the  result 
is  such  as  might  have  been  expected.  But  the  Chinese  child 
is  an  eminently  practical  being,  and  he  finds  by  experience  that, 
when  there  are  half  a dozen  children  smaller  than  himself,  the 
period  of  his  own  supreme  rule  has  passed  away,  and  has  passed 
away  never  to  return.  To  this  altered  condition  he  soon  learns 
to  adapt  himself. 

Of  that  sympathy  for  childhood  as  such,  which  is  so  distin- 
guishing a part  of  our  modern  civilization,  an  average  Chinese 
father  has  no  conception  whatever.  By  this  is  not  meant  that 


242 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


he  is  not  fond  of  his  children,  for  the  reverse  is  most  palpably 
true.  But  he  has  no  capacity  for  entering  into  the  life  of  a 
child,  and  comprehending  it.  His  fondness  for  his  children  is 
the  result  of  the  paternal  instinct,  and  is  not  an  intelligent  and 
sympathetic  appreciation  of  the  mind  of  a child.  He  not  only 
has  no  conception  of  such  a thing,  but  he  would  not  be  able  to 
understand  what  is  meant  by  it,  if  the  possibility  of  such  sym- 
pathy were  pointed  out.  The  invariable  reply  to  all  sugges- 
tions, looking  toward  such  sympathy  coming  from  a foreigner, 
seems  to  be,  “ Why,  he  is  only  a mere  child  ! ” It  is  by  the 
slow  moulding  forces  of  maturing  life  alone  that  the  boy  is  ex- 
pected to  learn  the  lessons  of  life,  and  these  lessons  he  must 
learn  largely — though  not  altogether — by  himself. 

To  most  Chinese  children,  there  is  very  little  that  is  attract- 
ive in  their  own  homes.  The  instinct  of  self-preservation  does 
of  course  lead  them  to  fly  thither,  as  soon  as  they  meet  with 
any  repulse  from  without,  but  this  instinct  they  share  with  ani- 
mals. 

Chinese  courtyards  are  almost  invariably  very  contracted, 
and  allow  little  scope  for  enterprising  youth  to  indulge  in  any 
but  the  most  crude  and  simple  forms  of  amusement.  The  Chi- 
nese lad  generally  has  but  few  toys,  and  those  of  the  simplest 
and  most  clumsy  description.  At  certain  festivals,  especially 
in  the  cities,  one  sees  the  children  loaded  down  with  all  varie- 
ties of  playthings  often  of  a flimsy  and  highly  inexpensive 
character.  In  the  country  the  same  phenomenon  is  observed 
wherever  there  has  been  a large  fair,  at  which  the  provision  for 
the  children  is  always  on  a scale  commensurate  with  their 
known  wants.  But  of  these  articles  made  of  earth,  paper,  bits 
of  cloth,  clay,  reeds,  sugar,  and  other  perishable  substances, 
nothing  will  be  left  when  the  next  moon  shall  have  completed 
its  orbit.  In  regions  where  bamboo  is  to  be  had,  there  are  a 
few  more  serviceable  and  less  fragile  articles  constructed  ex- 
pressly for  the  children,  and  such  articles  doubtless  have  a 
longer  lease  of  life. 


VILLAGE  BOYS  AND  MEN 


243 


That  Chinese  parents  should  take  occasion  to  have  a romp 
with  their  children,  or  even  to  engage  with  them  in  any  game 
whatever,  is,  so  far  as  we  have  observed,  a thing  wholly  outside 
of  the  range  of  their  wildest  imagination.  Children  have  very 
few  games  which  can  be  played  in  the  house,  and  the  time 
which  is  to  our  little  ones  the  cream  of  the  whole  day,  that 
namely  in  which  they  can  gather  “ around  the  evening  lamp,” 
is  to  the  Chinese  a period  of  dismal  obscurity.  By  the  dim 
light  of  a small  and  ill-trimmed  wick,  dipped  into  a few  spoon- 
fuls of  crude  vegetable  oil,  the  evening’s  occupations  are  car- 
ried on  as  best  they  may  be ; but  to  a foreigner  a Chinese  home 
is  at  such  times  most  ideally  comfortless,  especially  if  the  sea- 
son be  winter.  No  wonder  that  those  members  of  the  family 
who  can  do  so,  are  glad  to  crawl  upon  the  more  or  less  per- 
fectly warmed  k‘ang,  and  wrap  themselves  in  their  wadded 
bedclothes.  During  the  portion  of  his  existence  in  which  the 
father  and  the  mother  of  the  Chinese  child  most  gladly  forsake 
him,  kind  Morpheus  takes  him  up,  and  claims  him  for  his  own. 

The  outdoor  games  of  Chinese  children  are  mostly  of  a 
tame  and  uninteresting  type.  Tossing  bits  of  earth  at  a mark, 
playing  shuttlecock  with  his  toes  and  heels,  striking  a small 
stick  sharpened  at  the  ends  so  as  to  make  it  jump  into  a 
“city,”  a species  of  “fox  and  geese,”  a kind  of  “cat’s-cra- 
dle,”  a variety  of  “jack-stones,” — these  are  among  the  most 
popular  juvenile  amusements  in  the  rural  regions  with  which 
we  happen  to  be  acquainted.  Chinese  cities  have  allurements 
of  their  own,  some  of  which  do  not  differ  essentially  from  those 
found  in  other  parts  of  the  world  than  China.  But  even  in  the 
country,  where  restrictions  are  at  a minimum,  Chinese  lads  do 
not  appear  to  take  kindly  to  anything  which  involves  much  ex- 
ercise. One  does  not  ordinarily  see  them  running  races,  as 
foreign  boys  of  the  same  age  cannot  fail  to  do,  and  their  jump- 
ing and  climbing  are  of  the  most  elementary  sort.  We  have 
never  heard  of  a crow  which  was  so  injudicious  as  to  build  its 
nest  in  a spot  where  it  would  be  visible  to  the  eye  of  an  Anglo- 


244 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


Saxon  boy,  unless  the  owner  of  the  eye  had  previously  made  a 
long  journey  with  it  to  a distance  from  all  human  habitations. 
But  Chinese  crows  build  their  huge  nests  in  all  sorts  of  trees, 
in  and  about  every  Chinese  village.  It  is  not  uncommon  to 
see  an  old  poplar  with  ten  or  twelve  of  these  huge  mats  of 
sticks,  which  are  undisturbed  from  year  to  year  and  from  gen- 
eration to  generation. 

The  writer  once  counted  twenty-four  such  nests  in  a single 
moderate  sized  elm,  and  this  in  the  suburbs  of  a Chinese  city. 
Buddhist  teachings  in  regard  to  the  sacredness  of  animal  life 
do  not  suffice  to  account  for  the  singular  inviolability  which 
crows’ -nests  enjoy  in  China.  In  the  spring  they  are  sometimes 
defended  with  the  query : “ How  would  you  like  to  have  your 
house  pulled  down  ? ’ ’ But  in  a region  where  every  stick  of 
fuel  is  precious,  what  sacredness  can  attach  to  a bushel  or  two 
of  large  twigs,  when  the  crows  have  visibly  done  using  them  ? 
Neither  does  superstition  in  regard  to  ill-luck  arising  from  dem- 
olition of  the  nests  of  crows  explain  their  security,  although  at 
first  sight  this  may  seem  to  be  the  case.  Extensive  inquiries 
have  satisfied  us  that  the  true  explanation  is  simply  the  natural 
one,  that  the  Chinese  boy  is  afraid  to  climb  so  high  as  a crow’s- 
nest.  “What  if  he  should  fall?”  says  every  one  when  ap- 
plied to  for  information  on  the  point,  and  it  is  this  unanswered 
and  unanswerable  question  which  seems  to  protect  young  Chi- 
nese crows  from  age  to  age. 

The  Chinese  boy  can  seldom  get  access  to  running  water ; 
that  is  to  say,  the  proportion  of  Chinese  who  can  do  so  is  infin- 
itesimal. Most  of  them  have  no  lakes,  rivers,  or  ponds  in 
which  they  can  plunge  and  learn  to  swim,  or  in  which  they  can 
fish.  The  village  mud-hole  is  the  nearest  approach  to  the  joys 
of  a “watering-place”  to  which  Chinese  children  can  ordi- 
narily aspire.  These  excavations  are  the  hole  whence  the  ma- 
terial for  the  village  houses  was  originally  dug.  During  the 
summer  time  these  pits,  many  of  them  as  large  as  a dry-dock, 
are  filled  to  the  brim  with  dirty  water,  and  at  such  times  they 


The  Village  Story-Teller. 


VILLAGE  BOYS  AND  MEN 


245 


are  sure  to  be  surrounded  by  groups  of  children  clad  in  the 
costume  of  the  garden  of  Eden,  enjoying  one  of  the  few  luxur- 
ies of  their  mundane  existence.  When  the  boys  are  too  large 
to  indulge  in  this  amusement,  there  is  much  reason  to  fear  that 
most  of  them  have  taken  their  last  bath,  no  matter  to  what  age 
their  lives  may  be  prolonged  ! 

If  he  cannot  fish,  neither  can  the  Chinese  boy  go  a-hunting, 
for  in  the  most  populous  parts  of  the  plains,  of  which  so  large 
a portion  of  the  empire  is  composed,  there  is  nothing  to  hunt. 
A few  small  birds,  and  the  common  hare,  seem  to  constitute 
the  objects  most  frequently  shot,  but  except  in  the  case  of  the 
limited  number  of  those  who  make  a business  of  securing  such 
game  to  sell  as  a means  of  support,  there  are  very  few  persons 
who  devote  their  energies  to  any  form  of  hunting.  Indeed,  the 
instinct  which  is  said  to  lead  the  average  Englishman  to  remark 
“ It  is  a fine  day,  let  us  go  and  kill  something,”  is  totally  lack- 
ing in  the  Chinese. 

In  those  relatively  limited  parts  of  the  empire  where  ice 
forms  to  a sufficient  thickness  to  bear  the  weight  of  human  be- 
ings, one  does  see  considerable  frolicking  upon  frozen  rivers 
and  ponds.  But  the  propulsion  of  the  ice-sleds  with  passengers 
is  a matter  of  business  with  those  boatmen  who  during  the  sea- 
son of  navigation  have  no  other  means  of  earning  a living. 
Chinese  children  do  not  take  to  them  as  our  boys  do  to  sleds, 
and  even  if  they  wish  to  do  so,  their  parents  would  never 
dream  of  furnishing  the  children  with  such  an  ice-sled  simply 
for  amusement.  To  earn  one,  as  a boy  at  home  earns  a sled  or 
a pair  of  skates,  by  doing  extra  work,  by  picking  up  old  iron, 
and  other  similar  expedients,  would  be  for  a Chinese  lad  an 
impossibility. 

If  the  amusements  of  the  Chinese  lad  are  relatively  scanty 
and  uninteresting,  there  is  one  feature  of  his  life  which  is  a 
fixed  fact,  and  upon  which  nothing  is  allowed  to  intrude.  This 
is  his  work.  The  number  of  Chinese  children  within  any 
given  area  is  literally  incalculable,  but  it  may  be  safely  laid 


246 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


down  as  a general  truth,  that  by  far  the  larger  part  of  these 
children  are  for  the  greater  part  of  their  time  made  to  do  some 
useful  work.  There  is  scarcely  any  handicraft  in  which  even 
the  very  smallest  children  cannot  be  utilized,  and  it  is  for  this 
reason  in  part  that  hereditary  occupations  are  so  commonly  the 
rule.  The  child  bred  up  to  one  mode  of  physical  activity  is 
fitted  for  that,  if  he  is  fitted  for  nothing  else.  If  he  is  the  son 
of  a farmer,  there  is  a very  small  portion  of  the  year  during 
which  there  is  not  some  definite  work  for  him  to  do,  by  way  of 
assisting  in  the  cultivation  of  the  land.  This  is  no  doubt  true 
of  farming  everywhere,  but  the  unfailing  industry  of  the 
Chinese  and  the  heavy  pressure  of  the  common  poverty  give  to 
this  fact  an  emphasis  not  so  strongly  felt  in  other  lands. 

But  even  if  the  work  on  the  land  were  all  done,  which  is 
never  the  case  until  the  winter  has  actually  set  in,  there  are  two 
occupations  at  which  the  children  may  be  set  at  any  time,  and 
at  which  more  myriads  of  young  persons  are  probably  em- 
ployed, than  in  any  other  portion  of  the  planet.  These  two 
employments  are  gathering  fuel  and  collecting  manure.  In  a 
land  where  the  expense  of  transportation  forbids  the  use  of  coal 
in  places  distant  even  a few  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  pit,  it 
is  necessary  to  depend  upon  what  comes  from  the  soil  in  any 
particular  place,  for  fuel  to  cook  the  food  and  furnish  such 
warmth  as  can  be  got.  Not  a stalk,  not  a twig,  not  a leaf  is 
wasted.  Even  at  the  best,  the  products  of  a field  ill  suffice  in 
the  item  of  fuel  for  the  wants  of  those  who  own  it.  The 
Chinese  habit  of  constantly  drinking  hot  water,  which  must  be 
furnished  afresh  as  often  as  it  cools  and  for  each  chance  comer, 
consumes  a vast  amount  of  fuel  over  and  above  what  would  be 
strictly  required  for  the  preparation  of  food.  The  collection 
and  storage  of  the  fuel  supply  is  an  affair  second  in  importance 
only  to  the  gathering  of  the  crops.  But  in  every  village,  a 
considerable  although  varying  proportion  of  the  population  is 
to  be  found  who  own  no  land.  These  people  pick  up  a pre- 
carious living  as  they  can,  by  working  for  others  who  have 


VILLAGE  BOYS  AND  MEN 


247 


land,  but  their  remuneration  is  slight,  a-nd  often  wholly  insuffi- 
cient for  the  food  supply  of  the  many  mouths  clamouring  to  be 
filled. 

Farm  labourers  can  be  hired  by  the  year  in  Shan-tung,  for  a 
sum  equal  to  not  more  than  five  dollars  in  gold,  with  food  but 
no  perquisites.  If  the  year  has  an  intercalary  month  the 
labourer  sometimes  gets  less  than  two  cents  a day.  When 
refugees  from  regions  flooded  by  the  Yellow  River  abound, 
workmen  can  be  obtained  at  merely  nominal  wages. 

The  writer  has  known  an  able-bodied  boy  engaged  for  a year 
for  a sum  equal  to  about  a dollar  and  a half  (gold).  In  an- 
other case  a lad  was  offered  about  a dollar  for  a year’s  toil,  and 
was  required  to  find  some  one  as  security  that  he  would  not 
abscond  ! 

For  the  fuel  wherewith  to  cook  the  exiguous  supplies  of  this 
uncertain  food,  the  family  is  wholly  dependent  upon  what  the 
children  can  scratch  together.  Any  intermission  of  this  labour 
is  scarcely  less  a check  upon  the  means  of  existence,  than  the 
interruption  of  the  work  of  the  bread-winner  himself.  In  this 
dismal  struggle  for  a basket  full  of  leaves  and  weeds,  the  chil- 
dren of  China  expend  annually  incomputable  millenniums  of 
work. 

In  the  midst  of  such  a barren  wilderness  as  constitutes  the 
life  of  most  Chinese  children,  anything  which  breaks  the  dull 
monotony  is  welcomed  with  keen  joy.  The  feast-days,  the 
annual  or  semiannual  fairs  held  at  some  neighbouring  town,  an 
occasional  theatrical  exhibition,  the  humbler  Punch  and  Judy 
performance,  the  peripatetic  story-teller,  the  unfailing  succession 
of  weddings  and  funerals,  and  most  of  all  the  half-month  holi- 
day at  New  Year  all  serve  as  happy  reliefs  to  the  unceasing 
grind  of  daily  toil. 

There  is  one  incident  in  the  life  of  the  Chinese  lad,  which 
assumes  in  his  eyes  some  degree  of  importance,  to  which  most 
Occidental  boys  are  strangers.  This  is  the  ceremony  of  don- 
ning the  cap,  in  other  words  of  becoming  a man  and  his  mar- 


248 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


riage.  The  age  at  which  this  takes  place  is  far  from  being  a 
fixed  one,  but  is  often  in  the  vicinity  of  sixteen.  The  customs 
observed  vary  widely,  in  some  rural  districts  they  frequently 
consist  in  nothing  more  exciting  than  the  playing  by  a band  of 
music  in  the  evening  before  his  marriage,  and  a visit  on  the  part 
of  the  young  man  to  each  house  in  the  village  where  he  makes 
his  prostration,  much  as  at  New  Year,  and  is  henceforth  to  be 
considered  a full-grown  man,  and  is  protected  to  some  extent 
from  snubs  because  he  is  “only  a child.” 

The  more  conspicuous  part  of  the  affair,  however,  is  the 
wedding.  This  proceeding  is  based  upon  principles  so  radi- 
cally different  from  those  to  which  we  are  accustomed,  that  it 
is  generally  hard  for  a Westerner  to  become  reconciled  either 
to  the  Chinese  theory  or  to  the  practice.  To  us,  marriage 
seems  suitable  for  persons  who  have  attained,  not  merely  years 
of  puberty,  but  a certain  maturity  of  development  compatible 
with  the  new  relations  which  they  now  assume.  We  regard 
the  man  and  wife  as  the  basis  and  centre  of  a new  family,  and 
there  is  ancient  and  adequate  authority  for  the  doctrine  that 
they  should  leave  father  and  mother.  In  China  it  is  altogether 
otherwise.  The  boy  and  girl  who  are  married  are  not  a new 
family,  but  the  latest  branch  in  a tall  family  tree,  independent 
of  which  they  have  no  corporate  existence. 

It  is  by  no  means  uncommon  for  boys  to  be  married  at  the 
age  of  ten,  although  this  is  regarded  as  a trifle  premature.  The 
physical,  intellectual,  or  moral  development  of  the  parties  con- 
cerned has  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the  matter  of  their 
marriage,  which  is  an  affair  controlled  by  wholly  different  con- 
siderations. Sometimes  it  is  hastened  because  an  old  grand- 
mother is  in  feeble  health  and  insists  upon  seeing  the  main 
business  of  life  done  up  before  she  is  called  away.  Sometimes 
the  motive  is  to  settle  the  division  of  a piece  of  property  so  that 
it  shall  be  impossible  for  the  elder  heirs  to  retreat  from  the 
settlement.  Quite  as  often  the  real  motive  for  hastening  the 
wedding  is  the  felt  need  in  the  boy’s  family  of  an  additional 


VILLAGE  BOYS  AND  MEN 


249 


servant,  which  need  will  be  supplied  by  the  introduction  of  a 
new  bride.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  so  many  Chinese  women 
are  older  than  their  husbands.  When  they  are  betrothed,  the 
bigger  they  are  the  better,  because  they  can  do  all  the  more 
work. 

To  a Chinese,  there  is  no  more  sense  of  incongruity  in  mar- 
rying a little  slip  of  a boy,  simply  because  he  is  young,  and 
perhaps  not  more  than  half  the  size  of  his  bride,  than  there 
would  be  in  playing  checkers  with  buttons,  and  then  crowning 
the  first  button  that  happened  to  get  to  the  king-row.  What 
signified  whether  the  button  is  a small  one  or  a large  one,  since 
it  has  reached  the  last  row,  and  has  now  a set  of  moves  of  its 
own,  a fact  which  must  be  recognized  by  doubling  itself.  It  is 
not  otherwise  with  the  Chinese  boy.  He  is  a double  button,  it 
is  true,  but  he  is  nothing  but  a button  still,  and  a small  one, 
and  is  only  an  insignificant  part  of  a wide  and  complicated 
game. 

During  the  celebration  of  a Chinese  wedding  it  does  not 
strike  the  spectator  that  the  bridegroom  is  the  centre  of  interest, 
and  the  bride  is  so  only  for  the  time  being,  and  in  consequence 
of  the  curiosity  which  is  felt  to  see  what  sort  of  a bargain  the 
family  has  made  in  getting  her.  The  young  man  is  ordered 
out  of  the  apartment  where  he  has  been  kept  in  ambush — ac- 
cording to  the  custom  in  some  regions — like  an  ox  for  the  sacri- 
fice. He  is  to  fall  upon  his  knees  at  a word  of  command,  and 
kotow  with  intermittent  sequence  to  a great  variety  of  persons, 
until  his  knees  are  stiff  and  his  legs  lame.  His  eyes  are  fixed 
upon  the  ground,  as  if  in  deepest  humility,  and  the  most  awk- 
ward Chinese  youth  will  perform  the  details  of  this  trying 
ordeal  with  a natural  grace,  with  which  the  most  well-bred 
Occidental  youth  could  scarcely  hope  to  vie,  and  which  he 
assuredly  could  not  hope  to  surpass. 

When  the  complicated  protracted  ceremonies  are  all  over, 
our  young  lad  is,  it  is  true,  a married  man,  but  he  is  not  the 
“ head  ” of  any  family,  not  even  of  his  own.  He  is  still  under 


25° 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


the  same  control  of  his  father  as  before,  his  bride  is  under  the 
control  of  the  mother-in-law,  to  a degree  which  it  is  difficult 
for  us  to  comprehend.  If  the  youthful  husband  is  trying  to 
learn  to  compose  essays,  his  marriage  does  not  at  all  interrupt 
his  educational  enterprise  and  as  soon  as  the  ceremonies  are 
over  he  goes  on  just  as  before.  If  he  is  dull,  and  cannot  make 
the  “ seven  empty  particles  ” — the  terror  of  the  inexpert  Chinese 
essayist — fit  into  his  laborious  sentences  to  the  satisfaction  of 
his  teacher,  he  is  not  unlikely  to  be  beaten  over  the  head  for 
his  lack  of  critical  acumen,  and  can  then  go  weeping  home  to 
have  his  wife  stick  a black  gummy  plaster  over  the  area  of  his 
chastisement.  We  have  known  a Chinese  boy  who  had  the 
dropsy  in  an  aggravated  form  but  who  could  not  be  persuaded 
to  take  a single  dose  of  medicine  that  was  at  all  bitter.  If  he 
was  pressed  to  do  so  by  his  fond  mother,  he  either  fell  into  a 
passion,  or  cried.  If  he  was  not  allowed  to  eat  two  whole 
watermelons  at  a time  his  tactics  were  the  same,  a domestic 
scene  either  of  violent  temper,  or  of  dismal  howling  grief.  He 
was  merely  prolonging  into  youth  the  plan  universally  adopted 
in  the  childhood  of  Chinese  children.  Yet  this  sensitive  infant 
of  seventeen  had  been  married  for  several  years,  and  leaves  a 
widow  to  mourn  the  circumstance  that  drugs,  dropsy,  and 
watermelons,  have  blighted  her  existence. 

It  is  far  from  being  an  infrequent  circumstance  for  boys  who 
have  been  married  early,  on  occasion  of  some  grievance,  to  run 
crying  to  their  mothers  for  comfort  as  they  have  been  in 
the  habit  of  doing,  and  to  be  met  with  the  chilling  inquiry : 
“Why  do  you  come  to  me?  If  you  want  anything,  go  to 
Her!" 

By  a strange  exception  to  the  otherwise  almost  uniform 
prudishness  of  Chinese  practice,  on  the  occasion  of  a wedding 
it  is  common — although  by  no  means  universal — for  guests  to 
take  the  liberty  of  going  into  the  apartment  set  apart  for  the 
married  pair,  inspecting  the  bride  as  if  she  were  an  animal  just 
purchased  at  a market,  openly  expressing  whatever  criticisms 


VILLAGE  BOYS  AND  MEN 


251 

may  occur.  In  this  as  in  everything  else  customs  differ  greatly, 
but  the  phrase  “ playing  pranks  in  the  bridal  room  ” (nao  tung- 
fang ) testifies  to  the  frequency  of  the  occurrence.  In  the  year 
1893,  a native  newspaper  of  Canton  reported  a case  in  which 
the  bride  was  actually  killed  in  this  way,  by  having  cold  water 
poured  on  her,  the  perpetrators  being  fined  $200  for  “consola- 
tion money,”  and  all  the  costs  of  remarrying. 

It  is  a postulate  of  Chinese  ethics  that  no  branch  of  any 
family  should  be  allowed  to  be  without  its  living  representative, 
in  order  that  the  ancestral  rites  may  be  duly  performed.  As  it 
constantly  happens  that  there  are  no  sons,  it  becomes  necessary 
to  adopt  those  of  other  brothers,  or  failing  these  the  grandson 
of  an  uncle,  or  the  great-grandson  of  a granduncle.  Sons  thus 
adopted  are  on  the  same  footing  as  if  they  were  own  children, 
and  cannot  be  displaced  by  such  sons  born  later.  The  uni- 
versality of  these  adoptions  often  makes  it  difficult  to  ascertain 
with  precision  the  real  relationship  of  a man  to  others  of  his 
family.  Sometimes  he  continues  to  call  his  real  father  by  that 
title,  and  sometimes  he  terms  the  uncle  who  has  adopted 
him  his  “father”  and  his  own  father  “uncle.”  Again,  he 
may  be  nominally  adopted  by  an  uncle,  but  continue  to  live 
with  his  own  parents  as  before.  The  adoption  of  relatives  is 
expressed  by  the  general  term  “ crossing  over,”  (kuo)  and  it  is 
a sufficiently  important  feature  of  Chinese  life  to  serve  as  the 
subject  for  a treatise  rather  than  for  a paragraph.  It  enters  into 
the  warp  and  woof  of  all  Chinese  family  life,  which  cannot  be 
comprehended  without  taking  into  account  the  substratum  upon 
which  the  universal  practice  rests.  While  it  is  rooted  in  ancestral 
worship  it  is  kept  alive  among  even  the  poorest  classes  in  the  social 
scale  by  their  very  poverty.  If  a man  has  no  heir  he  can  be 
compelled  to  adopt  some  one  of  the  numerous  candidates  who 
are  thirsting  to  enter  into  prospective  possession  of  even  a small 
holding.  But  whoever  is  thus  adopted  becomes  responsible  for 
the  funeral  expenses  of  the  one  who  adopts  him.  Innumerable 
lawsuits  arise  out  of  these  complex  conditions. 


252 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


If  there  are  no  suitable  persons  for  adoption  among  the 
family  or  clan  of  the  adopter,  he  is  often  obliged  to  content 
himself  with  the  son  of  his  sisters,  or  even  the  grandchildren  of 
his  aunts.  To  our  thought  one  “nephew”  is  as  good  as  an- 
other, but  it  is  otherwise  with  a Chinese,  to  whom  the  children 
of  his  sister  (being  of  a different  surname)  are  much  farther  off 
than  those  of  his  brothers.  Besides  this,  on  occasion  of  the 
death  of  the  adopter,  the  position  of  a sister’s  son  is  liable  to  be 
very  insecure.  Rather  than  take  such  an  heir  many  Chinese 
will  pick  up  a mere  stranger,  but  in  this  case  he  can  be  easily 
got  rid  of  should  he  turn  out  unsatisfactory.  Outsiders  thus 
adopted  although  they  may  be  as  filial  and  in  every  way  as  sat- 
isfactory as  an  own  son,  never  escape  the  stigma  of  being  only 
“picked  up,”  and  this  taint  lasts  to  distant  generations.  A 
man  told  the  writer  that  he  was  wholly  without  influence  in  the 
village  where  he  was  born,  since  his  grandfather  had  been 
adopted  as  a stranger. 

There  is  still  another  method  of  securing  a son  which  is  far 
less  common  than  we  should  expect  it  to  be.  This  is  that  of 
finding  a suitable  husband  for  a daughter,  and  then  adopting 
him  as  a son.  By  this  means  the  parents  are  enabled  to  have 
the  services  of  an  own  daughter  all  their  lives — a rare  privilege 
in  China,  and  an  adopted  heir  of  this  kind  is  certainly  much 
more  closely  bound  to  the  family  than  any  other  of  a different 
family  would  be  likely  to  be.  But  there  are  not  many  clans 
which  do  not  have  a number  of  candidates  available  for  an 
adoptive  vacancy.  It  would  be  necessary  to  conciliate  whoever 
was  entitled  to  adoption  by  dividing  the  property  with  him, 
which,  in  the  case  of  those  with  but  small  resources,  would  be 
tantamount  to  perpetual  pauperism.  For  this  reason  most  cases 
of  “calling  a son-in-law  ” occur  in  families  where  there  are  no 
sons  of  brothers  or  cousins  available. 

As  a rule  every  Chinese  is  as  wide-awake  to  opportunities  for 
laying  claim  to  the  property  of  some  one  else,  as  a cat  appar- 
ently asleep  is  to  seize  an  injudiciously  venturesome  bird.  The 


VILLAGE  BOYS  AND  MEN 


253 


writer  is  acquainted  with  a man  who  had  adopted  a son-in-law 
in  legal  form,  but  who  at  the  funeral  of  his  own  father  was  sur- 
prised to  see  a large  band  of  strangers  enter  his  courtyard  clad 
in  mourning,  and  set  up  a simultaneous  wail  for  their  “ Uncle,” 
“Grandfather,”  etc.,  according  to  the  alleged  relationship. 
Upon  inquiry  he  learned  that  they  came  from  a village  at  some 
distance,  and  bearing  the  same  surname  as  the  deceased  had 
determined  to  claim  kinship  with  him  in  order  to  fall  heirs  to 
the  property  which  consisted  of  but  little  more  than  enough  to 
support  a moderate  sized  family.  The  result  was  a lawsuit  in 
which  the  pretenders  being  unable  to  produce  any  family  regis- 
ter to  the  purpose,  were  severely  beaten  by  the  District  Magis- 
trate as  a penalty  for  their  presumption. 

One  is  constantly  surprised  in  China  to  hear  that  a Chinese 
whose  name  he  knows  perfectly  well,  has  taken  an  entirely  dif- 
ferent surname,  so  that  Mr.  Wang  Spring-Flowers  suddenly  ap- 
pears as  Mr.  Ma  Illustrious-Virtue.  This  is  called  “reverting 
to  the  original  name,”  and  may  be  due  to  any  one  of  a great 
variety  of  causes.  Even  while  these  lines  are  being  committed 
to  paper,  a friend  of  the  writer  has  called  to  mention  the  ex- 
periences through  which  he  has  recently  passed,  a resume  of 
which  may  throw  a little  light  on  the  Chinese  theory  and  prac- 
tice of  adoption.  This  man  is  the  second  of  four  brothers,  the 
eldest  of  whom  was  adopted  into  a somewhat  distant  branch  of 
the  family,  and  has  three  sons.  Number  two  has  two  sons,  the 
youngest  of  whom  is  adopted  by  number  three,  who  has  none 
of  his  own.  Number  four  died  some  time  ago  without  a son. 
The  funeral  has  never  been  held,  and  the  body  has  been  en- 
coffined  awaiting  a favourable  time,  that  is  to  say,  a period  of 
financial  prosperity.  Number  four  owed  to  a grain-shop  in 
which  numbers  two  and  three  are  interested,  several  hundred 
strings  of  cash.  To  pay  up  this  debt  and  to  have  a proper  fu- 
neral, would  require  the  sale  of  all  the  forty  acres  of  land,  so 
that  the  right  of  adoption  has  not  seemed  worth  contesting. 
But  of  late  a son  of  number  one  has  set  up  a claim  to  this  in- 


254 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


heritance,  and  it  is  this  which  has  been  in  active  dispute  for  a 
period  of  twelve  days.  To  adjust  the  matter,  “ peace-talkers  ” 
have  been  summoned  to  the  number  of  thirty-eight , many  of 
them  literary  graduates.  There  have  been  angry  disputes  be- 
tween them  and  some  of  the  members  of  the  family,  and  an 
actual  fight.  The  “peace-talkers”  were  reviled,  and  took  re- 
venge by  beating  the  son  of  number  one  who  was  in  fault. 
This  involved  fresh  complications,  which  had  just  been  settled 
by  a final  feast. 

During  the  course  of  the  intricate  controversies  the  eight  and 
thirty  men  had  by  no  means  omitted  to  eat  and  drink  (one  of 
the  leading  functions  of  “ peace-talkers  ” and  for  the  sake  of 
which  many  quarrels  are  purposely  stirred  up,  and  many  more 
kept  unsettled  for  long  periods).  They  consumed  in  all  seventy 
catties  of  wine,  and  a hundred  more  of  bread-cakes,  and  the 
total  cost  to  number  two  is  about  two  hundred  and  thirty 
strings  of  cash,  one  hundred  of  which  are  paid  by  number  two 
to  number  one’s  family  as  “consolation  money.”  Yet  in  this 
whole  matter  the  financial  interest  of  number  two  is  absolutely 
nil ! 

Another  of  the  many  devices  which  the  Chinese  have  chosen 
for  perpetuating  a branch  of  the  family  which  might  otherwise 
become  extinct,  is  to  have  a single  individual  represent  two 
branches.  Thus  suppose  there  are  two  brothers  only  one  of 
whom  has  a son,  he  may  be  married  to  two  wives,  one  for  each 
branch.  The  establishment  must  be  a double  one,  and  he  will 
probably  be  obliged  to  divide  his  time  equally  between  his 
partners,  even  having  to  change  all  his  clothing  in  going  from 
one  house  to  the  other.  It  is  needless  to  remark  that  the  jeal- 
ousies thus  provoked  are  such  as  would  destroy  any  home. 

If  there  is  very  little  sentiment  connected  with  the  introduc- 
tion of  a daughter-in-law  into  a family,  on  the  part  of  the  hus- 
band’s family  at  least,  there  is  often  not  much  more  on  the  oc- 
casion of  her  death.  But  this  is  generally  regretted,  if  for  no 
other  reason,  on  account  of  the  trouble  and  expense  involved. 


VILLAGE  BOYS  AND  MEN 


255 


Perhaps  there  is  no  single  particular  in  which  the  Orient  and 
the  Occident  differ  more  widely  than  in  the  utter  disregard  of 
Orientals  for  what  we  understand  by  privacy  and  for  quiet. 
The  lack  of  the  latter  is  indeed  often  vaguely  felt,  but  as  it  is  a 
blessing  known  only  by  the  imaginative  faculty  and  never  from 
experience,  its  absence  has  none  of  the  intolerable  features 
which  we  should  associate  with  it.  The  moment  that  any 
Chinese  is  ill,  the  first  step  is  to  send  in  every  direction  to 
notify  all  sorts  and  grades  of  relatives,  many  of  whom  will  feel 
it  their  stern  duty  to  drop  whatever  they  are  doing,  no  matter 
what  its  importance,  to  go,  and  “ take  a look.”  This  inspec- 
tion not  infrequently  extends  for  days  and  sometimes  for  weeks, 
when  the  presence  of  the  relative  has  not  the  smallest  relation 
to  the  care  of  the  sick  person,  except  as  a hinderance  by  adding 
to  the  throng  that  hover  over  the  patient,  each  -with  his  endless 
questions  as  to  how  he  feels  now,  and  each  with  fertile  sugges- 
tions as  to  articles  of  food  vying  with  one  another  in  preposter- 
ousness. Few  of  us  would  not  welcome  death  as  a relief  from 
the  experiences  incident  to  serious  illness  under  Chinese  condi- 
tions, but  under  these  conditions  all  Chinese  are  born,  live, 
and  die. 

If  a sick  person  is  considered  to  be  beyond  the  possibility  of 
recovery,  the  next  step  is  to  “ put  on  the  clothes,”  that  is,  those 
in  which  he  is  to  be  buried,  a process  which  involves  pulling 
him  about  to  an  extent  which  it  is  distressing  to  contemplate. 
In  the  case  of  old  men  there  are  sometimes  angry  disputes  about 
the  property  in  the  immediate  presence  of  death,  and  in  that  of 
wives — especially  younger  ones — if  there  is  any  considerable 
property,  it  will  not  be  strange  if  the  house  is  visited  by  relays 
of  go-betweens  intent  upon  proposing  an  eligible  successor  to 
the  one  about  to  depart,  so  as  to  be  certain  to  forestall  other 
offers.  These  negotiations  may  take  place  in  the  immediate 
presence  of  the  dying  woman,  perhaps  two  or  more  strangers 
striving  at  the  same  time  to  get  a hearing  with  their  rival  pro- 
posals ! 


256 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


The  writer  is  acquainted  with  a family  in  which  this  took 
place,  and  one  of  the  offers  was  accepted,  but  the  sick  woman 
contrived  not  to  die  after  all  ! The  agreement,  however,  was 
valid,  and  the  prospectively  stricken  husband  thus  found  him- 
self provided  with  two  lawful  wives,  each  of  whom  subse- 
quently bore  him  sons.  Strange  to  say  the  family  life  is  in  this 
instance  a comparatively  peaceful  one.  Should  a wife  die,  it 
is  often  a short  time  before  the  marriage  of  the  next  one  takes 
place,  an  interval  regulated  not  by  sentiment,  but  by  the  diffi- 
culty of  raising  funds.  Soon  after  the  wedding  may  come  the 
funeral  of  the  predecessor. 

In  theory  a Chinese  lad  becomes  of  age  at  sixteen,  but  as  a 
practical  thing  he  is  not  his  own  master  while  any  of  the  gen- 
eration above  him  within  the  five  degrees  of  relationship  re- 
main on  the  mundane  stage.  To  what  extent  these  relatives 
will  carry  their  interference  with  his  affairs,  will  depend  to  a 
large  extent  upon  their  disposition,  and  to  some  extent  upon 
his  own.  In  some  households  there  is  a great  amount  of  free- 
dom, while  in  others  life  is  a weariness  and  an  incessant  vexa- 
tion because  Chinese  social  arrangements  effectually  thwart  Na- 
ture’s design  in  giving  each  human  being  a separate  personality, 
which  in  China  is  too  often  simply  merged  in  the  common 
stock,  leaving  a man  a free  agent  only  in  name. 

Taking  it  in  an  all  around  survey  there  is  very  little  in  the 
life  of  the  village  boy  to  excite  one’s  envy.  As  we  have  al- 
ready seen,  he  generally  learns  well  two  valuable  lessons,  and 
the  thoroughness  with  which  they  are  mastered  does  much  to 
atone  for  the  great  defects  of  his  training  in  other  regards. 
He  learns  obedience  and  respect  for  authority,  and  he  learns  to 
be  industrious.  In  most  cases,  the  latter  quality  is  the  condi- 
tion of  his  continued  existence  and  those  who  refuse  to  submit 
to  the  inexorable  law,  are  disposed  of  by  that  law,  to  the  great 
advantage  of  the  survivors.  But  of  intellectual  independence, 
he  has  not  the  faintest  conception  or  even  a capacity  of  com- 
prehension. He  does  as  others  do,  and  neither  knows  nor  can 


VILLAGE  BOYS  AND  MEN 


257 


imagine  any  other  way.  If  he  is  educated,  his  mind  is  like  a 
subsoil  pipe,  filled  with  all  the  drainage  which  has  ever  run 
through  the  ground.  A part  of  this  drainage  originally  came, 
it  is  true,  from  the  skies,  but  it  has  been  considerably  altered 
in  its  constituents  since  that  time ; and  a much  larger  part  is  a 
wholly  human  secretion,  painfully  lacking  in  chemical  purity. 
In  any  case  this  is  the  content  of  his  mind,  and  it  is  all  of  its 
content. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Chinese  youth  is  uneducated,  his 
mind  is  like  an  open  ditch,  partly  vacant,  and  partly  full  of 
whatever  is  flowing  or  blowing  over  the  surface.  He  is  not  in- 
deed destitute  of  humility ; in  fact  he  has  a most  depressing 
amount  of  it.  He  knows  that  he  knows  nothing,  that  he  never 
did,  never  shall,  never  can  know  anything,  and  also  that  it 
makes  very  little  difference  what  he  knows.  He  has  a blind 
respect  for  learning,  but  no  idea  of  gathering  any  crumbs 
thereof  for  himself.  The  long,  broad,  black  and  hopeless 
shadow  of  practical  Confucianism  is  over  him.  It  means  a 
high  degree  of  intellectual  cultivation  for  the  few,  who  are  nec- 
essarily narrow  and  often  bigoted,  and  for  the  many  it  means  a 
lifetime  of  intellectual  stagnation. 


XXIII 


CHINESE  COUNTRY  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

^TPHE  Chinese  are  as  practical  a people  as  ever  had  a na- 
tional  existence,  and  we  know  of  no  reason  to  suppose 
that  the  Chinese  ever  had  the  least  doubt  that  a substantial 
equality  of  the  sexes  in  point  of  numbers  is  a condition  of  the 
continued  propagation  of  the  race.  Certainly  no  race  was 
ever  more  careful  to  keep  itself  propagated,  or  has  ever  met 
with  greater  success  in  the  undertaking.  Yet  the  Chinese  are 
almost  the  only  people  boasting  an  ancient  and  developed  civi- 
lization who  despise  their  own  daughters  who  are  married  into 
the  families  of  others,  and  are  by  that  process  lost  to  their  own 
because  according  to  ancient  custom  they  can  offer  no  sacri- 
fices for  their  parents  when  the  latter  are  dead.  It  is  for  this 
reason  that  the  popular  saying  declares  that  the  most  ideally 
excellent  daughter  (literally  a daughter  with  the  virtues  of  the 
eighteen  Lo-hans)  is  not  equal  to  a splay-footed  son.  This 
sentiment  is  endorsed  by  all  Chinese  consciously  and  uncon- 
sciously, in  a manner  to  show  that  it  is  interwoven  with  the 
very  fibres  of  their  being.  Its  ultimate  root  is  the  same  as  that 
of  so  many  other  human  opinions,  pure  selfishness. 

The  Chinese  girl  when  she  makes  her  first  appearance  in  the 
world  is  very  likely  to  be  unwelcome,  though  this  is  by  no 
means  invariably  the  case.  The  ratio  in  which  fortune-tellers 
allot  happiness  is  generally  about  five  sons  to  two  daughters. 
“Whatsoever  is  more  than  these  cometh  of  evil.”  With 
theories  like  those  of  the  Chinese  about  the  unavailability  of 
daughters  for  the  performance  of  ancestral  rites,  and  with  the 
Chinese  nature  as  it  is,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  the 

258 


CHINESE  COUNTRY  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN  259 

great  pressure  of  poverty  leads  to  the  crime  of  infanticide  upon 
an  enormous  scale.  For  aught  that  appears,  this  has  always 
been  the  case.  It  is  not  that  the  Chinese  conscience  does  not 
recognize  the  murder  of  girl  babies  as  wrong,  but  that  the 
temptation  to  such  murder,  especially  the  temptation  to  the 
disappointed  and  often  abused  mother,  is  too  strong  to  be  re- 
sisted by  any  motives  which  have  the  opportunity  to  act  upon 
her. 

Much  has  already  been  done  by  those  who  have  had  most  op- 
portunity to  learn  the  facts,  toward  exhibiting  the  real  practice 
of  the  Chinese  in  the  matter  of  destroying  female  infants.  Yet 
no  more  can  be  safely  predicated  than  that  this  is  a crime 
which  to  some  extent  everywhere  prevails,  and  in  some  places 
to  such  a degree  as  seriously  to  affect  the  proportion  of  the 
sexes.  It  seems  to  be  most  common  in  the  maritime  provinces 
of  the  southern  part  of  China,  in  some  districts  of  which  it  is 
by  the  Chinese  themselves  regarded  as  a terrible  and  a threaten- 
ing evil.  Native  tract  societies  publish  books  exhorting  the 
people  against  the  practice,  and  magistrates  occasionally  issue 
proclamations  forbidding  it,  but  it  is  evident  that  the  nature  of 
the  offence  is  such  that  no  laws  can  touch  it,  and  nothing  short 
of  the  elevation  of  the  mothers  themselves  to  a far  higher  point 
of  view  than  they  now  occupy,  can  have  any  permanent  effect 
upon  Chinese  female  infanticide. 

Next  to  the  destruction  of  the  lives  of  female  infants,  the 
Chinese  practice  most  revolting  to  our  Western  ideas  is  the  sale 
of  their  daughters,  at  all  periods  from  infancy  up  to  a marriage- 
able age.  The  usages  of  different  parts  of  the  empire  vary 
widely,  but  the  sale  of  girls,  like  infanticide,  seems  to  flourish 
most  in  the  maritime  provinces  of  the  south,  where  it  is  con- 
ducted as  openly  as  any  other  traffic.  That  the  parents  are 
generally  impelled  to  this  extreme  step  simply  by  the  pressure 
of  poverty  we  are  quite  ready  to  believe.  Yet  the  knowledge 
that  the  girl  must  be  separated  from  her  family  at  a later  period, 
and  that  this  parting  is  irrevocable,  must  tend  to  reconcile 


26o 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


many  Chinese  parents  to  an  anticipation,  by  a few  years,  of  the 
inevitable.  Of  the  miseries  which  girls  who  have  been  thus 
sold  are  likely  to  endure,  it  is  unnecessary  to  speak  in  detail, 
but  enough  is  known  on  the  subject  to  lead  us  to  regard  the 
practice  with  horror.  If  the  parents  do  not  feel  able  to  keep 
their  daughter  until  she  is  old  enough  to  be  married,  and  yet 
do  not  wish  to  sell  her,  Chinese  custom  has  invented  another 
expedient,  which  is  a compromise  between  the  two.  This  is 
the  well-known  “rearing-marriage,”  by  which  the  girl  is  made 
over  to  the  family  into  which  she  is  to  be  married,  and  is  by 
that  family  brought  up,  and  married  whenever  their  conven- 
ience dictates.  There  are  manifest  and  grave  objections  to 
this  practice,  but  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  it  is  far  better 
than  the  custom  of  child  marriages,  which  lead  to  so  much 
wretchedness  in  India.  In  some  instances  the  relations  with 
the  family  of  the  girl  are  wholly  broken  off,  when  she  is  taken 
for  a “rearing-marriage,”  and  in  all  cases  it  is  regarded  as  a 
confession  of  poverty  and  weakness,  which  places  the  girl’s 
family  at  much  more  than  their  usual  disadvantage,  at  best 
sufficiently  great.  When  a girl  is  brought  up  in  the  family  the 
son  of  which  is  to  become  her  future  husband,  it  is  of  course 
wholly  out  of  the  question  that  the  parties  should  not  have  the 
fullest  opportunities  to  become  acquainted  with  each  other’s 
disposition,  however  they  may  be  forbidden  by  usage  to  speak 
to  one  another.  There  is  and  can  be  very  little  sentiment 
about  Chinese  matches,  but  anything  which  tends  to  make  the 
parties  to  one  of  these  matches  better  able  to  adapt  themselves 
to  the  inevitable  friction  of  after  life,  cannot  fail  to  have  its  ad- 
vantages. Whether  the  parties  to  a “rearing-marriage”  are 
or  are  not  on  the  whole  happier  than  those  married  in  the  ordi- 
nary way,  is  a question  which  no  Chinese  would  be  likely  to 
ask,  for  the  reason  that  he  has  no  associations  connecting  mar- 
riage with  happiness,  but  rather  the  reverse,  and  if  the  ques- 
tion is  proposed  by  a foreigner,  he  is  not  likely  to  be  made 
much  the  wiser  by  the  replies  which  he  receives. 


CHINESE  COUNTRY  GIRLS  AND  IVOMEN  261 

The  practice  of  binding  the  feet  of  Chinese  girls  is  familiar 
to  all  who  have  the  smallest  knowledge  of  China,  and  requires 
but  the  barest  mention.  It  is  almost  universal  throughout 
China,  yet  with  some  conspicuous  exceptions,  as  among  the 
Hakkas  of  the  south,  an  exception  for  which  it  is  not  easy  to 
account.  The  custom  forcibly  illustrates  some  of  the  innate 
traits  of  Chinese  character,  especially  the  readiness  to  endure 
great  and  prolonged  suffering  in  attaining  to  a standard,  merely 
for  the  sake  of  appearances.  There  is  no  other  non-religious 
custom  peculiar  to  the  Chinese  which  is  so  utterly  opposed  to 
the  natural  instincts  of  mankind,  and  yet  which  is  at  the  same 
time  so  dear  to  the  Chinese,  and  which  would  be  given  up 
with  more  reluctance. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  greatest  emperor  who  ever  sat  upon 
the  throne  of  China  dared  not  risk  his  authority  in  an  attempt 
to  put  down  this  custom,  although  his  father  had  successfully 
imposed  upon  the  Chinese  race  the  wearing  of  the  queue  as  a 
badge  of  subjection.  A quarter  of  a millennium  of  Tartar  rule 
seems  to  have  done  absolutely  nothing  toward  modifying  the 
practice  of  foot-binding  in  favour  of  the  more  rational  one  of 
the  governing  race,  except  to  a limited  extent  in  the  capital  it- 
self. But  a few  li  away  from  Peking,  the  old  habits  hold  their 
iron  sway.  The  only  impulse  toward  reform  of  this  useless 
and  cruel  custom  originated  with  foreigners  in  China,  and  was 
long  in  making  itself  felt,  which  it  is  now,  especially  in  the 
central  part  of  the  empire,  beginning  to  be. 

The  observations  which  may  be  made  with  regard  to  the  in- 
dustry of  Chinese  boys,  are  equally  applicable — mutatis  mu- 
tandis— to  Chinese  girls.  In  all  lands  and  in  all  climes, 
“woman’s  work  is  never  done,”  and  this  is  most  especially 
true  of  China,  where  machinery  has  not  yet  expelled  the  prim- 
itive processes  of  what  is  literally  manufacture,  or  work  by  the 
hand.  The  care  of  silk-worms,  and  the  picking,  spinning,  and 
weaving  of  cotton,  are  largely  the  labour  of  women,  to  which 
the  girls  are  introduced  at  a very  early  age.  The  sewing  for  a 


262 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


Chinese  family  is  a serious  matter,  especially  as  the  number  of 
families  who  can  afford  to  hire  help  in  this  line  is  a very  trifling 
proportion.  But  aside  from  this  employment,  in  which  a Chi- 
nese girl  who  expects  to  be  acceptable  to  the  family  of  her 
mother-in-law  must  be  expert,  girls  can  also  be  made  useful  in 
almost  any  line  of  home  work  to  which  the  father  may  be  de- 
voted. In  the  country  districts  all  over  the  empire,  boys  and 
girls  alike  are  sent  out  to  scratch  together  as  much  fuel  as  pos- 
sible, for  the  preparation  of  the  food,  and  this  continues  in  the 
case  of  the  girls  until  they  are  too  large  to  go  to  any  distance 
from  home.  It  is  not  an  unmeaning  appellation,  which  is  given 
to  girls  generally,  that  of  ya-t‘ou,  or  “ slave-girl,”  used  just  as 
we  should  say  “daughter.”  To  a foreigner,  this  sounds 
much  like  the  term  “ nigger  ” applied  to  black  men,  but  to  the 
Chinese  there  is  a fitness  in  the  designation,  which  they  refuse 
to  surrender. 

With  the  exception  of  such  limited  raids  as  she  may  have 
been  able  to  make  in  early  childhood,  and  occasional  visits  to 
relatives,  most  Chinese  girls  never  go  anywhere  to  speak  of, 
and  live  what  is  literally  the  existence  of  a frog  in  a well. 1 
Tens  of  thousands  of  them  have  never  been  two  miles  away 
from  the  village  in  which  they  happened  to  be  born,  with  the 
occasional  exception  of  the  visit  to  the  mother’s  family  just  men- 
tioned, where  they  are  not  improbably  regarded  as  terrible  be- 
ings who  cannot  be  exterminated,  but  who  are  to  be  as  much 
as  possible  repressed.  If  the  nieces  on  the  mother’s  side  are 
numerous,  as  is  often  the  case,  there  is  some  reason  for  dread 
of  the  visits,  on  the  part  of  the  bread-winners,  for  no  Chinese 
mother  can  be  dissociated  from  her  flock  of  children,  whose 
appetites  are  invariably  several  horse-power  strong,  and  who, 

1 A Chinese  woman  for  many  years  employed  in  the  writer’s  family,  re- 
marked that  for  a long  time  after  she  was  married  she  was  never  allowed 
to  leave  the  narrow  courtyard  in  her  hamlet.  The  wife  of  a Tao  t'ai  told 
a foreign  lady  that  in  her  next  existence  she  hoped  to  be  born  a dog,  that 
she  might  go  where  she  chose ! 


Women  Preparing  Food. 


On  the  Way  to  the  Feast. 


CHINESE  COUNTRY  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN  263 

like  their  elders,  are  all  excessively  fond  of  enjoying  the  pleas- 
ure of  eating  at  some  one  else’s  expense. 

It  is  when  the  married  daughters  of  a large  family  have  all 
returned  to  their  parents  to  spend  a few  days  or  weeks,  that  the 
most  dramatic  scenes  of  childhood  occur.  Self-control  and 
unselfishness  have  not  been  a feature  in  the  culture  of  any  one 
of  the  numerous  cousins  thus  brought  together  in  a cluster 
which  frequently  resembles  those  on  the  inside  of  a beehive. 
Each  of  the  young  generation  has  the  keenest  instinct  for  get- 
ting as  much  of  the  best  of  what  is  to  be  had  as  any  one  else, 
and  if  possible  more.  This  leads  to  occasional  “ scenes  of  con- 
fusion, and  creature  complaints,”  in  which  each  small  partici- 
pant publishes  his  or  her  version  of  the  particular  squabble  in 
piercing  tones,  which  soon  summon  the  whole  establishment  to 
the  scene  of  action.  Judicious  parents  would  punish  the  chil- 
dren all  round  for  their  complicity  in  such  a quarrel,  which  is 
most  often  based  upon  alleged  or  supposed  inequalities  in  dis- 
tribution of  food.  But  Chinese  parents  are  seldom  judicious, 
and  the  most  that  can  be  expected  is  that  the  mother  will  call 
off  her  child  or  children,  and  “ yell  ” it,  or  them.  “ Yelling  ” 
a person  is  the  act  of  proclaiming  in  a loud  and  piercing  voice 
the  disapprobation  on  the  part  of  the  “yeller  ” of  the  conduct 
of  the  “yellee,”  often  accompanied  by  reviling  language,  and 
frequently  also  with  promises  to  “ beat”  and  “kill  ” the  said 
“ yellee”  in  the  event  of  further  provocation.  These  remarks 
are  interpreted  by  the  “ yellee  ” as  a hint  to  stop,  a feat  which 
is  at  length  accomplished  after  a period  of  more  or  less  spas- 
modic and  convulsive  recrimination. 

But  if,  as  often  happens,  each  of  the  mothers  feels  called 
upon  from  a high  sense  of  duty  to  take  a firm  stand  for  the 
rights  of  her  offspring,  the  case  becomes  much  more  serious. 
Each  of  the  mothers  will  then  scream  simultaneously,  to  the 
accompaniment  of  the  wails,  yells,  and  reviling  of  the  whole 
half-dozen  or  more  of  her  posterity,  while  above  the  general 
clamour  may  be  distinctly  caught  the  shrill  shrieks  of  the  grand- 


264 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


mother,  whose  views,  whatever  difficulty  they  may  have  in  get- 
ting themselves  heard,  must  eventually  prevail  when  peace  once 
more  reigns  in  the  domestic  teapot.  After  one  of  these  family 
cyclones,  the  atmosphere  gradually  becomes  cleared  again,  and 
things  go  on  as  before ; but  we  have  known  a particularly  spir- 
ited married  daughter,  who  exhibited  her  dissatisfaction  with 
the  terms  of  settlement  of  a dispute  of  this  sort  by  refusing  to 
speak  to  her  sisters  for  some  days  together. 

With  the  humdrum  routine  of  her  life  at  home,  the  occa- 
sional visits  to  relatives,  and  now  and  then  a large  fair  or  a 
theatrical  exhibition,  the  Chinese  girl  grows  to  be  what  we 
should  call  a “ young  schoolgirl,”  by  which  time  all  her 
friends  begin  to  be  very  uneasy  about  her.  This  uneasiness, 
we  need  scarcely  remark,  has  not  the  smallest  connection  with 
her  intellectual  nature,  which,  so  far  as  any  culture  which  it 
receives  is  concerned,  might  as  well  be  non-existent.  Unless 
her  father  happens  to  be  a schoolmaster,  and  at  home  with 
nothing  to  do,  he  never  thinks  of  teaching  his  daughter  to  read. 
Even  in  the  case  of  boys,  this  would  be  exceptional  and  irreg- 
ular, but  in  the  case  of  girls  it  is  felt  to  be  preposterous.  And 
why?  asks  the  incredulous  foreigner.  It  will  take  the  average 
Chinese  a long  time  to  explain  the  nature  of  his  objection,  and 
when  he  does  so  he  will  not  have  stated  the  whole  of  the  case, 
nor  have  gone  to  the  root  of  the  matter.  The  real  difficulty  is 
that  to  educate  a girl  is  like  weeding  the  field  of  some  other 
man.  It  is  like  putting  a gold  chain  around  the  neck  of  some 
one  else’s  puppy,  which  may  at  any  moment  be  whistled  off, 
and  then  what  will  have  become  of  the  chain  ? It  is  a prover- 
bially mean  man  in  China,  who,  when  marrying  his  daughter, 
wants  to  be  paid  for  the  food  he  has  wasted  upon  her  up  to  the 
date  of  marriage.  But  the  expression  illustrates  clearly  one  of 
the  underlying  assumptions  of  Chinese  society,  that  it  is  the 
body  of  the  girl  for  which  the  parents  are  responsible,  and  not 
the  mind.  To  almost  any  Chinese  it  would  probably  appear  a 
self-evident  proposition  that  to  spend  time,  strength,  and  much 


CHINESE  COUNTRY  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 


265 


more  money  in  educating  the  daughter-in-law  of  some  one  else 
is  a sheer  waste.  But,  you  say  to  him,  she  is  your  daughter. 
“ Not  after  she  is  married,”  he  replies ; “ she  is  theirs,  let  them 
educate  her  themselves  if  they  want  her  educated.”  “Why 
should  I teach  her  how  to  read,  write  and  reckon,  when  it  will 
never  do  me  any  good?  ” With  which  ultilitarian  inquiry,  the 
education  of  most  Chinese  girls  has  been  banished  from  human 
thought  for  the  space  of  some  millenniums. 

The  anxiety  which  all  her  friends  begin  to  feel  about  a 
Chinese  girl,  as  soon  as  she  attains  any  considerable  size,  is  ex- 
hibited in  the  inquiries  which  are  made  about  her  whenever 
she  happens  to  be  spoken  of.  These  inquiries  do  not  concern 
her  character  or  her  domestic  accomplishments,  much  less  her 
intellectual  capacity — of  which  she  has,  theoretically,  none  to 
speak  of — but  they  may  all  be  summed  up  in  the  single  phrase, 
“Is  she  said?”  meaning  by  the  term  “said”  “betrothed.” 
If  the  reply  should  be  in  the  negative,  the  intelligence  is  re- 
ceived in  much  the  same  way  as  we  should  receive  the  infor- 
mation that  a foreign  child  had  been  allowed  to  grow  to  the  age 
of  sixteen  without  having  been  taught  anything  whatever  out 
of  books.  “Why?”  we  should  say,  “what  is  the  explana- 
tion age  of  this  strange  neglect  ? ’ ’ The  instinctive  feeling  of 
a Chinese  in  regard  to  a girl  is  that  she  should  be  betrothed 
as  soon  as  possible.  This  is  one  of  the  many  points  in  regard 
to  which  it  is  almost  impossible  for  the  Chinese  and  the 
Anglo-Saxon  to  come  to  terms.  To  the  latter  the  betrothal 
of  a mere  child,  scarcely  in  her  teens,  is  a piece  of  absolute 
barbarity. 

As  soon  as  a Chinese  girl  is  once  betrothed,  she  is  placed  in 
different  relations  to  the  universe  generally.  She  is  no  longer 
allowed  such  freedom  as  hitherto,  although  that  may  have  been 
little  enough.  She  cannot  go  anywhere,  because  it  would  be 
“inconvenient.”  She  might  be  seen  by  some  member  of  the 
family  into  which  she  is  to  marry,  than  which  it  is  hardly  pos- 
sible to  think  of  anything  more  horrible.  “Why?”  the  irre- 


266 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


pressible  Occidental  inquires;  and  is  quenched  by  the  infor- 
mation that  “it  would  not  be  proper.” 

The  imminent  risk  that  the  girl  might  in  some  unguarded 
moment  be  actually  seen  by  the  family  of  the  future  mother-in- 
law  is  a reason  why  so  few  engagements  for  girls  are  made  in 
the  town  in  which  the  girl  lives,  an  arrangement  which  would 
seem  to  be  for  the  convenience  of  all  parties  in  a great  variety 
of  ways.  It  would  put  a stop  to  the  constant  deceptions  prac- 
ticed by  the  middle-women,  or  professional  match-makers, 
whose  only  object  is  to  carry  through  whatever  match  has 
been  proposed,  in  order  to  reap  the  percentage  which  will 
accrue  to  the  agent.  It  would  do  away  with  the  waste  of  time 
and  money  involved  in  transporting  brides  from  one  of  their 
homes  to  the  other,  often  at  great  inconvenience  and  loss.  It 
would  make  the  interchange  of  little  courtesies  between  the 
families  easy  and  frequent.  But  for  all  these  advantages  the 
Chinese  do  not  seem  to  care,  and  the  most  frequent  explana- 
tion of  the  neglect  of  them  is  that  there  would  be  the  risk  al- 
ready mentioned.  When  these  two  families  are  such  as  would 
in  the  ordinary  course  of  events  be  likely  to  meet,  nothing  is 
more  amusing  to  a foreigner  than  to  watch  the  struggles  which 
are  made  to  avert  such  a catastrophe.  One  is  reminded  of 
some  of  our  childhood’s  games,  in  which  one  party  is  “ poison  ’’ 
and  the  other  party  is  liable  to  be  “ poisoned  ” and  must  at  ah 
hazards  keep  out  of  the  way.  The  only  difference  between  the 
cases  is  that  in  the  Chinese  game,  each  party  is  afraid  of  being 
“poisoned,”  and  will  struggle  to  prevent  it.  There  is  one  set 
of  circumstances,  however,  in  which,  despite  their  utmost 
efforts,  Fate  is  too  much  both  for  the  poisoners  and  the  poi- 
soned. If  during  the  betrothal  a death  of  an  older  person  takes 
place  in  the  family  of  the  mother-in-law,  it  is  generally  thought 
necessary  that  the  girl  (who  is  considered  as  already  “belong- 
ing” to  that  family)  should  be  present  and  should  perform  the 
same  reverence  to  the  coffin  of  the  deceased  as  if  she  had  been 
already  married.  She  is  (theoretically)  their  daughter;  why 


CHINESE  COUNTRY  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN  267 

should  she  not  come  and  lament  like  the  rest  ? 1 If  it  is  pos- 
sible to  arrange  it,  however,  the  marriage  will  be  hastened,  in 
the  event  of  a death  of  a person  belonging  to  an  older  genera- 
tion, even  if  a later  date  had  been  previously  set. 

To  a foreigner,  the  Chinese  habit  of  early  engagements  ap- 
pears to  have  no  single  redeeming  feature.  It  hampers  both 
families  with  no  apparent  corresponding  advantages,  if  indeed 
there  are  advantages  of  any  kind.  It  assumes,  what  is  far  from 
certain,  and  often  not  at  all  likely,  that  the  relative  position  of 
the  two  families  will  continue  to  be  the  same.  This  assump- 
tion is  contradicted  by  universal  experience.  Time  and  change 
happen  to  all,  and  the  insecurity  of  human  affairs  is  nowhere 
more  manifest  than  in  the  tenure  of  Chinese  property.  Fami- 
lies are  going  up  and  coming  down  all  the  time.  It  is  a well- 
settled  principle  in  China  that  matches  should  be  between  those 
who  are  in  the  same  general  circumstances.  Disregard  of  this 
rule  is  sure  to  bring  trouble.  But  if  early  betrothals  are  the 
practice,  the  chances  of  material  alteration  in  the  condition  of 
each  of  the  families  are  greatly  increased.  When  he  is  en- 
gaged, the  character  of  the  boy,  upon  which  so  much  of  a 
bride’s  happiness  is  to  depend,  has  not  perhaps  been  formed. 
Even  if  it  has  been  formed,  it  is  generally  next  to  impossible 
for  the  girl’s  family  to  learn  anything  authentic  as  to  what  the 
character  is,  though  to  all  appearance  it  would  be  so  easy  for 
them  to  ascertain  by  latent  methods.  But  as  a rule,  it  would 
appear  that  they  do  not  concern  themselves  much  about  the 
matter  after  the  engagement  is  proposed  and  accepted,  and  at 
no  time  do  they  give  it  a hundredth  part  of  the  investigation 
which  it  seems  to  us  to  warrant.  If  the  boy  becomes  a gam- 
bler, a profligate,  or  dissipated  in  any  other  way,  there  is  no 

1 We  have  known  occasional  instances  in  which  a betrothed  girl  was 
not  required  to  attend  the  funeral  of  her  future  father-in-law  or  mother-in- 
law,  a trying  ordeal  which  she  must  be  glad  to  escape.  Sometimes  when 
she  does  attend,  she  merely  kneels  to  the  coffin,  but  does  not  “ lament,” 
for  usage  is  in  this,  as  in  other  particulars,  very  capricious. 


268 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


retreat  for  the  family  of  the  girl,  no  matter  to  what  extremities 
they  may  be  driven.  Chinese  violation  of  the  most  ordinary 
rules  of  prudence  and  common  sense  in  the  matter  of  the  be- 
trothal of  their  daughters  is,  to  a Westerner,  previous  to  ex- 
perience and  observation,  almost  incredible. 

A Chinese  marriage  engagement  begins  when  the  red  cards 
have  been  interchanged,  ratifying  the  agreement.  These  are  in 
some  districts  formidable  documents,  almost  as  large  as  a crib- 
blanket,  and  are  very  important  as  evidence  in  case  of  future 
trouble.  It  is  very  rare  to  hear  of  the  breaking  of  a marriage 
engagement  in  China,  though  such  instances  do  doubtless  oc- 
cur. In  a case  of  this  sort  the  card  of  the  boy’s  family  had 
been  delivered  to  the  other  family,  at  which  point  the  transac- 
tion is  considered  to  be  definitely  closed.  But  an  uncle  of  the 
betrothed  girl,  although  younger  than  the  father  of  the  girl, 
created  a disturbance  and  refused  to  allow  the  engagement  to 
stand.  This  made  the  matter  very  serious,  but  as  the  younger 
brother  was  inflexible,  there  was  no  help  for  it  but  to  send  the 
red  acceptance  card  back  by  the  middleman  who  brought  it. 
This  also  was  a delicate  matter,  but  a Chinese  is  seldom  at  a 
loss  for  expedients  when  a disagreeable  thing  must  be  done. 
He  selected  a time  when  all  the  male  members  of  the  boy’s 
family  were  in  the  wheatfield,  and  then  threw  the  card  declin- 
ing the  match  into  the  yard  of  the  family  of  the  boy,  and  went 
his  way.  None  of  the  women  of  the  family  could  read,  and  it 
was  not  until  the  men  returned  that  it  was  discovered  what  the 
document  was.  The  result  was  a lawsuit  of  portentous  pro- 
portions, in  which  an  accusation  was  brought  against  both  the 
father  of  the  girl  and  against  the  middleman.  This  case  was 
finally  adjusted  by  a money  payment. 

The  delivery  of  the  red  cards  is,  as  we  have  remarked,  the 
beginning  of  the  engagement,  the  culmination  being  the  arrival 
of  the  bride  in  her  chair  at  the  home  of  her  husband.  The 
date  of  this  event  is  generally  dependent  upon  the  pleasure  of 
the  boy’s  family.  Whatever  accessories  the  wedding  may  have, 


CHINESE  COUNTRY  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 


269 


the  arrival  of  the  bride  is  the  de  facto  completion  of  the  con- 
tract. This  becomes  evident  in  the  case  of  second  marriages, 
where  there  is  often,  and  even  proverbially,  no  ceremony  of  any 
sort  which  must  be  observed.  The  Chinese  imperial  calendar 
designates  the  days  which  are  the  most  felicitous  for  weddings, 
and  it  constantly  happens  that  on  these  particular  days  there 
will  be  what  the  Chinese  term  “ red  festivities  ” in  almost  every 
village.  This  is  one  of  the  many  instances  in  which  Chinese 
superstitions  are  financially  expensive.  On  “lucky  days”  the 
hire  of  sedan-chairs  rises  with  the  great  demand,  while  those 
who  disregard  luck  are  able  to  get  better  service  at  a lower 
price.  There  is  a tradition  of  a winter  in  the  early  part  of  this 
century  when  on  a “fortunate  day”  many  brides  were  being 
carried  to  their  new  homes  during  the  progress  of  a tremendous 
snowstorm  which  blinded  the  bearers  and  obliterated  the  roads. 
Some  of  the  brides  were  frozen  to  death,  and  many  were  taken 
to  the  wrong  places.  On  the  other  hand  in  a blistering  sum- 
mer, cases  have  been  known  where  the  bride  was  found  to  be 
dead  when  the  chair  was  deposited  at  the  husband’s  home. 
The  same  bridal  sedan-chair  may  be  used  many  times.  In 
regions  where  it  is  the  custom  to  have  all  weddings  in  the 
forenoon,  second  marriages  are  put  off  until  the  afternoon,  or 
even  postponed  until  the  evening,  marking  their  minor  impor- 
tance. 

That  the  only  essential  feature  of  a Chinese  wedding  is  the 
delivery  of  the  bride  at  her  husband’s  home,  is  strikingly 
shown  in  those  not  very  uncommon  instances  in  which  a 
Chinese  is  married  without  himself  being  present  at  all.  It  is 
usually  considered  a very  ill  omen  to  change  the  date  set  for  a 
wedding,  especially  to  postpone  it.  Yet  it  sometimes  happens 
that  the  young  man  is  at  a distance  from  home,  and  fails  to  re- 
turn in  time.  Or  the  bridegroom  may  be  a scholar,  and  find 
that  the  date  of  an  important  examination  coincides  with  the 
day  set  for  his  wedding.  In  such  a case  he  will  probably 
choose  “business  before  pleasure”  and  the  bride  will  be 


270 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


“taken  delivery  of”  by  older  members  of  his  family,  without 
disturbing  his  own  literary  ambitions. 

Of  the  details  of  Chinese  weddings  we  do  not  intend  to 
speak.  There  are  wide  variations  of  usage  in  almost  all  par- 
ticulars, though  the  general  plan  is  doubtless  much  the  same. 
The  variations  appertain,  not  to  the  ceremonies  of  the  wedding 
alone,  but  to  all  the  proceedings  from  beginning  to  end.  It  is 
supposed  that  the  explanation  of  the  singular  and  sometimes 
apparently  unaccountable  variation  in  these  and  other  usages, 
found  all  over  China,  may  be  due  to  the  persistent  survival  of 
customs  which  have  been  handed  down  from  the  time  of  the 
Divided  Kingdoms.  But  very  considerable  differences  in  usage 
are  to  be  met  with  in  regions  not  far  apart,  and  which  were 
never  a part  of  different  kingdoms.  The  saying  runs,  “ Cus- 
toms vary  every  ten  li,"  which  seems  at  times  to  be  a literal 
truth. 

In  the  south  of  China,  as  we  have  already  remarked,  the 
transfer  of  money,  at  the  engagement  of  a daughter,  from  the 
parents  of  the  boy  to  those  of  the  girl,  assumes  for  all  practical 
purposes  the  aspect  of  a purchase,  which,  pure  and  simple,  it 
often  is.  But  in  other  parts  of  China  we  never  hear  of  such  a 
transaction,  but  only  of  a dowry  from  the  bride’s  family,  much 
in  the  manner  of  Western  lands  at  times.  Vast  sums  are  un- 
doubtedly squandered  by  the  very  wealthy  Chinese  at  the  wed- 
dings of  their  daughters,  and  it  is  a common  adage  that  to  such 
expenditures  there  is  no  limit.  But  in  weddings  in  the  ordi- 
nary walks  of  life,  to  which  all  but  a small  fraction  of  the  peo- 
ple belong,  the  impression  which  will  be  made  upon  the  ob- 
servant foreigner  will  generally  be  that  there  is  a great  amount 
of  shabby  gentility,  a thin  veneer  of  display  beneath  which  it 
is  easy  to  see  the  real  texture. 

In  this  as  in  everything  relating  to  Chinese  usages  it  is  im- 
possible to  make  general  statements  which  shall  at  the  same 
time  be  accurate.  There  are  regions  in  northern  China  where 
the  money  exacted  from  the  family  of  the  future  bridegroom  is 


CHINESE  COUNTRY  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 


27 1 


so  considerable,  that  what  remains  after  the  real  bridal  outfit 
has  been  purchased  is  a positive  source  of  profit  to  the  father. 
There  are  also  other  districts  where  local  custom  requires  the 
bridegroom’s  family  to  give  very  little  or  even  nothing  at  all  for 
dowry,  but  exacts  heavily  from  the  bride’s  family.  There  must 
be  a large  supply  of  clothing,  and  bedding ; even  when  at  her 
own  home  the  young  married  woman  must  sew  for  her  hus- 
band’s family,  and  the  one  which  furnishes  the  bride  is  subject 
to  a constant  series  of  petty  exactions. 

The  bridal  chair  is  often  itself  a fit  emblem  of  a Chinese 
wedding.  Looked  at  from  a distance,  it  appears  to  be  of  the 
most  gorgeous  description,  but  on  a nearer  view  it  is  frequently 
perceived  to  be  a most  unattractive  framework  covered  Avith  a 
gaudy  set  of  trappings  sometimes  much  worn  and  evidently  the 
worse  for  Avear.  In  some  cases  there  is  a double  framework, 
the  outer  of  Avhich  can  be  lifted  entirely  off,  being  too  clumsy 
to  be  got  into  a courtyard.  The  inner  chair  can  be  carried 
through  the  narroAv  doors  of  any  Chinese  yard,  or,  if  required, 
into  the  house  itself. 

The  bride  is  no  sooner  out  of  the  chair  than  the  process  of 
dismantling  the  bridal  chair  begins,  in  the  immediate  sight  of 
all  the  guests,  and  as  a matter  of  course.  The  Chinese  is  not 
a victim  of  sentiment,  and  he  fails  to  see  anything  incongruous 
in  these  proceedings.  It  not  infrequently  happens  that  the 
resplendent  garment  Avorn  by  the  bride  is  hired  for  the  occasion, 
a fact  of  Avhich  the  guests  present  are  not  likely  to  be  ignorant. 
We  once  saAv  a garment  of  this  sort  Avhich  the  bride  had  just 
taken  off,  delivered  to  the  headman  in  charge  of  the  bridal 
chair  and  of  the  accompanying  paraphernalia.  Upon  examin- 
ing it  to  make  sure  that  it  Avas  in  as  good  condition  as  Avhen  it 
was  hired,  this  man  found,  or  professed  to  find,  a grease-spot 
upon  it,  Avhich  not  only  attracted  his  attention  but  excited  his 
wrath.  He  began  to  talk  in  loud  and  excited  tones,  Avaxing 
more  and  more  furious  until  the  guests  Avere  all  called  away 
from  their  other  occupations  to  listen  to  the  dispute.  Yet  the 


272 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


foreign  spectator  was  probably  the  only  person  present  to  whom 
it  occurred  that  this  was  an  untimely  and  unseemly  proceeding, 
out  of  harmony  with  the  time  and  the  circumstances. 

The  arrival  of  a first  baby  is,  in  the  life  of  a Chinese  wife,  a 
very  different  event  from  the  like  occurrence  in  the  life  of  a 
wife  in  Occidental  lands.  If  the  child  is  a boy,  the  joy  of  the 
whole  household  is  of  course  great,  but  if  on  the  contrary  it  is 
a girl,  the  depression  of  the  spirits  of  the  entire  establishment 
is  equally  marked.  In  such  a case,  the  young  wife  is  often 
treated  with  coldness,  and  not  infrequently  with  harshness,  even 
if,  as  sometimes  happens,  she  is  not  actually  beaten  for  her  lack 
of  discretion  in  not  producing  a son.  If  she  has  had  several 
daughters  in  succession,  especially  if  she  has  borne  no  son  or 
none  which  has  lived,  her  life  cannot  be  a pleasant  one. 

There  is  a story  of  a certain  noble  English  lord,  who  had 
more  daughters  than  any  other  member  of  the  aristocracy. 
When  on  the  Continent  travelling,  he  walked  out  one  day  with 
six  of  his  daughters.  Some  one  who  saw  him,  remarked  to  a 
companion,  “Poor  man.”  The  noble  lord  overheard  the  ob- 
servation, and  turning  to  the  person  who  made  it,  replied, 
“ Not  so  ‘ poor  ’ as  you  think  ; I have  six  more  at  home  ! ” It 
is  questionable  whether  any  Chinese  could  be  found  who  would 
not  sympathize  with  the  comment  of  the  bystander,  or  who 
would  agree  with  the  reply  of  the  father.  Indeed,  we  have 
serious  doubts  whether,  among  all  the  innumerable  myriads  of 
this  race,  there  ever  lived  a Chinese  who  had  twelve  daughters 
living  at  once. 

It  is  one  of  the  postulates  of  Chinese  propriety  that  however 
much  a wife  may  continue  to  visit  at  the  maternal  home,  (and 
on  this  point  the  usages  in  some  regions  are  very  liberal),  her 
children  must  all  be  born  at  their  father’s  house.  This  is  a 
rule  of  such  unbending  rigour  that  a breach  of  it  is  considered 
a deep  disgrace,  and  in  the  effort  to  avoid  it  women  will  some- 
times submit  to  extreme  inconveniences,  and  run  the  most 
serious  risks,  not  infrequently,  it  is  said,  meeting  in  conse- 


CHINESE  COUNTRY  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 


273 


quence  with  gainful  and  humiliating  accidents.  To  the  Occi- 
dental question  as  to  the  reason  for  this  powerful  prejudice 
against  a confinement  at  a mother’s  home,  the  Chinese  are  able 
to  give  no  better  reply  than  an  affirmation  that,  if  such  an 
event  should  happen,  the  mother’s  family  may  be  expected  to 
become  very  poor.  This  superstition  is  so  strong  that  in  some 
localities,  if  such  an  event  has  happened,  it  is  customary  for  the 
family  of  the  husband  to  harness  a team  to  a plough,  and,  pro- 
ceeding to  the  home  of  the  girl’s  parents,  plough  up  their 
courtyard.  The  son-in-law  must  also  cook  a kettle  full  of 
millet  or  rice  for  his  mother-in-law,  by  which  means  the  dire 
extremity  of  poverty  may  be  avoided.  Perhaps,  after  all,  the 
idea  at  the  bottom  of  these  singular  performances  is  merely  the 
thoroughly  Chinese  one  that,  if  a married  daughter  and  her 
children  are  to  come  upon  her  mother’s  family  for  their  sup- 
port, poverty  will  be  the  certain  result,  a view  which  has  in  it 
some  reason. 

A description  of  the  ceremonious  superstitions  common 
among  the  Chinese  on  occasion  of  the  birth  of  a child, 
especially  of  a son,  and  most  especially  of  a firstborn  son, 
would  fill  a volume.  These  are  far  more  rigorously  observed 
in  the  southern  part  of  the  empire  than  at  the  north,  and  more 
in  cities  than  in  the  country  village,  where  many  of  these  cus- 
toms may  be  wholly  unknown. 

There  is  the  highest  Chinese  classical  authority  for  the  propo- 
sition that  if  a mother  is  really  anxious  to  do  the  best  that  she 
can  for  her  infant,  although  she  may  not  succeed  perfectly,  she 
will  not  come  far  short  of  success.  There  is  equally  trustworthy 
Occidental  medical  authority  for  the  statement  that,  as  applied 
to  Chinese  women,  this  proposition  is  a gross  error.  Undoubt- 
edly superstition  directly  or  indirectly  destroys  the  lives  of  many 
Chinese  children.  But  this  cause,  which  is  complex  in  its 
operations,  is  probably  much  less  efficient  for  evil  than  the  utter 
lack,  on  the  part  of  the  parents,  of  the  instinct  of  conformity  to 
the  most  obvious  of  Nature’s  laws. 


274 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


The  newborn  infant  is  laid  upon  the  k'ang  where  it  is  some- 
times warmly  covered,  and  sometimes  exposed  to  excessive 
changes  of  temperature.  Many  children  continue  to  nurse  at 
the  breast  for  a series  of  years,  and  whenever  they  cry  this  is 
the  sole  method  of  effectually  quieting  them,  even  though  they 
be  thus  fed  an  hundred  times  a day.  When  the  baby  is  large 
enough  to  eat  miscellaneous  food,  there  is  almost  no  restraint 
either  upon  the  kind  or  the  quantity.  He  is  allowed  to  swallow 
unripe  fruits  and  melons  to  almost  any  extent,  and  raw  sweet- 
potatoes  or  turnips  are  gnawed  on  by  very  small  infants  in 
arms. 

When  children  are  able  to  run  about  they  are  likely  to  be 
constantly  nibbling  at  something,  often  sucking  their  father’s 
tobacco  pipe,  sometimes  producing  serious  weakening  of  the 
system  and  atrophy.  In  Shan  hsi  mere  babies  learn  to  smoke 
opium,  which  thus  becomes  at  once  a natural  and  an  invincible 
appetite. 

Taking  into  account  the  conditions  of  their  early  life,  it  is  by 
no  means  improbable  that  more  than  half  the  whole  number 
of  Chinese  infants  die  before  they  are  two  years  old.  This 
result  is  greatly  promoted  by  many  of  those  superstitions 
which  sometimes  have  more  than  the  force  of  law.  Thus  in 
some  regions  there  is  an  absolute  interdict  on  seeing  either 
mother  or  child  until  forty  days  shall  have  elapsed  from  its 
birth.  During  this  critical  period  myriads  of  young  lives  dis- 
appear almost  without  the  knowledge  of  near  neighbours.  Sim- 
ilar bans  are  laid  upon  the  period  of  some  of  the  most  common 
and  most  fatal  of  infantile  diseases,  such  as  measles,  diphtheria, 
and  smallpox,  the  mortality  frequently  attending  which  is 
enormous. 

Multitudes  of  Chinese  children  die  in  fits,  the  causes  of 
which  are  sufficiently  obvious  to  foreigners  who  see  the  care- 
lessness with  which  Chinese  children  are  handled.  We  have 
known  a Chinese  mother,  in  a moment  of  dissatisfaction,  to 
throw  her  young  and  naked  infant  out  of  doors  into  a snow- 


CHINESE  COUNTRY  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 


275 


bank.  Another  cut  off  one  of  her  baby’s  fingers  with  a pair 
of  dull  shears,  to  save  it  from  fits,  and  was  rewarded  by  seeing 
it  die  in  convulsions.  Such  a practice  is  said  to  be  not  un- 
common. “Who  would  have  supposed  that  it  would  have 
done  so  ? ” her  mother  remarked  to  a foreigner.  But  even  if 
the  young  mother  were  endowed  with  the  best  of  judgment,  it 
would  still  be  impossible  for  her  to  secure  proper  care  for  her 
children,  for  the  reason  that  she  is  herself  only  a “child  ” 1 and 
in  her  management  of  her  children,  as  in  other  affairs,  is  wholly 
subject  to  the  dictation  of  her  mother-in-law,  as  well  as  to  the 
caprices  of  a platoon  of  aunts,  grandmothers,  etc.,  with  whom 
nearly  all  Chinese  courtyards  swarm. 

The  severe  labour  entailed  upon  Chinese  women  in  the 
drudgery  of  caring  for  large  families,  assisting  in  gathering  the 
crops,  and  other  outside  toils,  and  the  great  drafts  made  upon 
their  physical  vitality  by  bearing  and  nursing  so  many  children, 
amply  suffice  to  account  for  the  nearly  universally  observed 
fact  that  these  women  grow  old  rapidly.  A Chinese  bride, 
handsome  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  will  be  faded  at  thirty,  and 
at  fifty  wrinkled  and  ugly. 

It  has  been  already  remarked  that  the  life  of  the  Chinese 
village  woman  is  an  apt  illustration  of  the  inherent  impossibility 
that  woman’s  work  should  ever  be  done.  Before  her  own 
children  have  ceased  to  be  a constant  care  by  day  and  by 
night,  grandchildren  have  not  improbably  made  their  appear- 
ance, giving  the  grandmother  little  peace  or  rest.  The  mere 
preparation  of  the  food  for  so  many  in  the  single  kettle  which 
must  serve  for  everything,  is  a heavy  task  incessantly  repeated. 
All  articles  of  apparel,  including  shoes,  are  literally  manufac- 
tured or  done  by  hand,  and  so  likewise  is  the  supply  of  bedding 
or  wadded  quilts  which  like  the  wadded  garments  must  be 
ripped  open  from  time  to  time,  cleaned  and  renewed. 

1 A Chinese  woman  whose  parents  are  living,  is  constantly  referred  to 
not  only  as  a “girl,”  but  as  an  unmarried  girl  ( ku-niang ),  although  she 
may  be  herself  the  mother  of  half-a-dozen  children. 


276 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


Women  and  girls  take  their  share  of  watching  the  orchards 
and  the  melon  patches,  etc.,  by  day,  and  sometimes  by  night 
as  well.  When  the  wheat  harvest  comes  on,  all  the  available 
women  of  the  family  are  helping  to  gather  it,  and  in  the  autumn 
harvest  likewise  every  threshing-floor  abounds  with  them,  and 
their  countless  children.  In  cotton  growing  districts  the  women 
and  girls  are  busy  a large  part  of  the  time  in  the  fields,  and 
often  earn  the  only  pin-money  which  they  ever  see  by  picking 
cotton  for  others. 

The  preparation  of  this  indispensable  staple  for  use  occupies 
the  hands  of  millions  of  Chinese  women,  from  its  collection  in 
the  field — a most  laborious  work  since  the  plant  grows  so  low — 
to  its  appearance  as  garments,  and  its  final  disappearance 
as  flat  padding  to  be  used  in  shoe-soles.  The  ginning,  the 
“scutching”  or  separation  of  fibres,  the  spinning,  the  cording, 
the  winding  and  starching,  and  especially  the  weaving  are  all 
hard  and  tiresome  work,  and  that  too  without  end  in  sight 
while  life  lasts.  In  some  regions  every  family  owns  a loom 
(one  of  the  clumsy  machines  exiled  from  the  West  a century 
ago)  and  it  is  not  uncommon  for  the  members  of  a family  to 
take  turns,  the  husband  weaving  until  midnight,  when  the  wife 
takes  up  the  task  till  daylight,  (often  in  cellars  two-thirds  under- 
ground, damp,  unventilated,  and  unwholesome).  Even  so  it  is 
frequently  difficult  to  keep  the  wolf  away  from  the  door. 
Within  the  past  few  years  the  competition  of  machine  twisted 
cotton  yarns  is  severely  felt  in  the  cotton  regions  of  China,  and 
many  who  just  managed  to  exist  in  former  days  are  now  per- 
petually on  the  edge  of  starvation.  This  is  the  “ seamy  side  ” 
of  “progress.” 

The  fact  that  Chinese  girls  are  married  so  young,  and  that 
they  have  not  been  taught  those  lessons  of  self-control  which 
it  is  so  important  for  them  to  learn,  suffices  to  demonstrate  the 
absolute  necessity  for  the  existence  of  the  Chinese  mother-in- 
law  as  an  element  in  the  family.  A Chinese  married  woman 
must  address  her  mother-in-law  as  “ mother,”  but  for  precision 


CHINESE  COUNTRY  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 


277 


is  allowed  to  refer  to  her  as  “mother-in-law  mother.”  A 
Chinese  woman  calling  on  a foreign  lady  asked  the  latter  (in 
the  presence  of  her  husband)  about  her  family  in  the  home- 
land. The  lady  mentioned  that  she  had  “ a mother-in-law,” 
upon  which  the  Chinese  woman  in  an  awed  whisper  pointing 
to  the  foreign  gentleman,  inquired:  “ Won't  he  beat  you  for 
saying  that  ? ” 

A great  deal  is  heard  of  the  tyranny  and  cruelty  of  these 
mothers-in-law,  and  there  is  a firm  basis  of  fact  for  all  that  is 
so  often  said  upon  that  point.  But  it  must  at  the  same  time  be 
borne  in  mind  that  without  her  the  Chinese  family  would  go  to 
utter  ruin.  The  father-in-law  is  not  only  unfitted  to  take  the 
control  which  belongs  to  his  wife,  even  were  he  at  home  all  the 
time  which  would  seldom  be  the  case,  but  propriety  forbids 
him  to  do  any  such  thing,  even  were  he  able.  In  families 
where  a mother-in-law  is  lacking,  there  are  not  unlikely  to  be 
much  greater  evils  than  the  worst  mother-in-law.  Abuse  of 
the  daughter-in-law  is  so  common  a circumstance,  that  unless 
it  be  especially  flagrant,  it  attracts  very  little  attention. 

It  would  be  wholly  incorrect  to  represent  this  as  the  normal 
or  the  inevitable  condition  to  which  Chinese  brides  are  re- 
duced, but  it  is  not  too  much  to  affirm  that  no  bride  has  any 
adequate  security  against  such  abuse.  It  assumes  all  varieties 
of  forms,  from  incessant  scolding  up  to  the  most  cruel  treat- 
ment. If  it  is  carried  to  an  extreme  pitch,  the  mother’s  family 
will  interfere,  not  legally,  for  that  they  cannot  do,  but  by  brute 
force.  In  a typical  case  of  this  sort,  where  the  daughter-in-law 
had  been  repeatedly  and  shamefully  abused  by  the  family  of 
her  husband,  which  had  been  remonstrated  with  in  vain  by  the 
family  of  the  girl,  the  latter  family  mustered  a large  force, 
went  to  the  house  of  the  mother-in-law,  destroyed  the  furniture, 
beat  the  other  family  severely,  and  dragged  the  old  mother-in- 
law  out  into  the  street,  where  she  was  left  screaming  with  what 
strength  remained  to  her,  and  covered  with  blood,  in  which 
condition  she  was  seen  by  foreigners.  These  proceedings  are 


278 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


designed  as  a practical  protest  against  tyranny  and  an  intima- 
tion that  sauce  for  a young  goose  may  be  in  like  manner  sauce 
for  an  older  one  also.  One  would  suppose  that  the  only  out- 
come of  such  a disturbance  as  this  would  be  a long  and  bitter 
lawsuit,  wasting  the  property  of  each  of  the  parties,  and  per- 
haps reducing  them  to  ruin.  But  with  that  eminent  practical- 
ity which  characterizes  the  Chinese,  the  girl  was  carried  off  to 
the  home  of  her  parents,  “peace-talkers”  intervened,  and  the 
girl  was  returned  to  her  husband’s  home  upon  the  promise  of 
better  treatment.  This  would  probably  be  secured,  just  in 
proportion  to  the  ability  of  the  girl’s  family  to  enforce  it. 

In  another  case  reported  to  the  writer,  similar  in  its  nature 
to  the  one  just  mentioned,  the  girl  was  sent  to  her  husband, 
after  “peace-talkers”  had  adjusted  the  affair,  and  was  locked 
up  by  the  mother-in-law  in  a small  room  with  only  one  meal  a 
day.  Within  a year  she  had  hanged  herself. 

It  is  not  the  ignorant  and  the  uneducated  only  who  thus  take 
the  law  into  their  own  hands  on  behalf  of  injured  daughters. 
We  have  heard  of  a case  in  which  the  father  of  the  girl  who 
drowned  herself  was  a literary  graduate.  He  raised  a band  of 
men,  went  to  the  home  of  his  son-in-law,  and  pulled  down  the 
gate-house  to  the  premises,  and  some  of  the  buildings.  In  the 
resulting  lawsuit  he  was  severely  reproved  by  the  District 
Magistrate,  who  told  him  that  he  had  no  right  to  assume  to 
avenge  his  own  wrongs,  and  that  he  was  only  saved  from  a 
beating  in  court  by  his  literary  degree. 

A still  more  striking  example  was  offered  by  an  official  of  the 
third  rank,  whose  daughter’s  wrongs  moved  him  to  raise  an 
armed  band  and  make  an  attack  upon  the  house  of  the  son-in- 
law.  This  proved  to  be  strong  and  not  easily  taken,  upon 
which  the  angry  Tao-t‘ai  contented  himself  with  reviling  the 
whole  family  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  exactly  as  a coolie  would 
have  done.  Wrongs  which  can  only  be  met  with  such  acts  as 
this,  on  the  part  of  those  who  are  are  the  most  conservative 
members  of  Chinese  society,  must  be  very  real  and  very 


CHINESE  COUNTRY  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 


279 


grievous.  In  the  very  numerous  cases  in  which  a daughter-in- 
law  is  driven  to  suicide  by  the  treatment  which  she  receives, 
the  subsequent  proceedings  will  depend  mainly  upon  the  num- 
ber and  standing  of  her  relatives.  The  first  thing  is  to  notify 
the  family  of  the  deceased  that  she  has  died,  for  without  their 
presence  the  funeral  cannot  take  place,  or  if  it  should  take 
place  the  body  would  have  to  be  exhumed,  to  satisfy  her  friends 
that  the  death  was  a natural  one,  and  not  due  to  violence, 
which  is  always  likely  to  be  suspected.  A Chinese  in  the  em- 
ploy of  the  writer,  was  summoned  one  day  to  see  his  married 
daughter  in  another  village,  who  was  said  to  be  “ not  very 
well.”  When  the  father  arrived,  he  found  her  hanging  by  her 
girdle  to  a beam  ! 

In  cases  of  this  sort,  a lawsuit  is  exceptional.  There  are 
several  powerful  considerations  which  act  as  deterrents  from 
such  a step  as  sending  in  an  accusation.  It  is  almost  always 
next  to  impossible  to  prove  the  case  of  the  girl’s  family,  for  the 
reason  that  the  opposite  party  can  always  so  represent  the  mat- 
ter as  to  throw  the  blame  on  the  girl.  In  one  such  instance, 
the  husband  brought  into  court  a very  small  woman’s  shoe, 
explaining  that  he  had  scolded  his  wife  for  wearing  so  small  a 
one,  which  unfitted  her  for  work.  He  alleged  that  she  then 
reviled  him,  for  which  he  struck  her  (of  which  there  were 
marks),  whereupon  she  drowned  herself.  To  a defence  like 
this,  it  is  impossible  for  the  girl’s  family  to  make  any  reply 
whatever.  The  accusation  is  not  brought  against  the  husband, 
but  against  the  father-in-law,  for  practically  the  law  does  not 
interfere  between  husband  and  wife.  It  is  only  necessary  for 
the  husband  to  admit  the  fact  of  having  beaten  his  wife,  alleg- 
ing as  a reason  that  she  was  “ unfilial  ” to  his  parents,  to  screen 
himself  completely.  We  have  heard  of  a suit  where  in  reply  to 
a claim  of  this  sort,  the  brother  of  the  girl  testified  that  she  had 
been  beaten  previous  to  the  alleged  “ unfilial  ” conduct.  This 
seemed  to  make  the  magistrate  angry,  and  he  ordered  the 
brother  to  receive  several  hundred  blows  for  his  testimony,  and 


28o 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


decided  that  the  husband’s  family  should  only  be  required  to 
provide  a cheap  willow-wood  coffin  for  the  deceased. 

Another  even  more  efficient  cause  deterring  from  such  law- 
suits, is  the  necessity  of  holding  an  inquest  over  the  girl’s  body. 
This  is  conducted  with  the  utmost  publicity,  upon  the  Oriental 
plan  of  letting  the  public  see  how  the  matter  really  stands.  A 
threshing  floor  is  turned  into  an  official  arena,  a set  of  mat- 
sheds  are  put  up,  and  the  whole  village  soon  swarms  with 
yamgn-runners.  The  corpse  of  the  deceased  is  laid  uncovered 
on  a mat  exposed  to  the  sight  of  every  one,  before  and  during 
the  inquest.  In  order  to  avoid  the  shame  of  such  exposure, 
and  the  great  expense,  the  most  bitter  enemies  are  often  willing 
enough  to  put  the  matter  in  the  hands  of  “ peace -talkers.” 
These  represent  the  village  of  each  of  the  principals,  and  they 
meet  to  agree  upon  the  terms  of  settlement.  These  terms  will 
depend  altogether  upon  the  wealth  or  otherwise  of  the  family 
of  the  mother-in-law.  If  this  family  is  a rich  one,  the  opposite 
party  always  insist  upon  bleeding  it  to  the  utmost  practicable 
extent.  Every  detail  of  the  funeral  is  arranged  to  be  as  expen- 
sive to  the  family  as  possible.  There  must  be  a cypress-wood 
coffin,  of  a specified  size  and  thickness,  a certain  variety  of  fu- 
neral clothes,  often  far  in  excess  of  what  the  coffin  could  by  any 
possibility  contain,  and  some  of  them  made  perhaps  of  silk  or 
satin.  A definite  amount  is  required  to  be  spent  in  hiring 
Buddhist  or  Taoist  priests,  or  both,  to  read  masses  at  the  fu- 
neral. It  is  considered  disgraceful  to  compound  with  the  family 
of  the  mother-in-law,  by  receiving  a money  payment,  instead 
of  exacting  all  this  funeral  show,  but  doubtless  such  composi- 
tions are  sometimes  made.  As  a business  arrangement  merely, 
it  is  evidently  more  to  the  interest  of  all  parties  to  pay  the  girl’s 
relatives  say  two  hundred  strings  of  cash,  rather  than  to  expend 
a thousand  strings  on  a funeral  which  can  do  no  one  any  good. 
But  Chinese  sensitiveness  to  public  sentiment  is  so  extreme,  that 
such  settlements  for  a mere  transfer  of  cash  must  be  compara- 
tively rare. 


CHINESE  COUNTRY  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN  281 

The  wedding  outfit  of  a bride  is  often  very  extensive,  but  in 
case  of  her  suicide  none  of  it  goes  back  to  her  family.  We 
have  heard  from  eyewitnesses  of  many  cases  in  which  huge 
piles  of  clothing  which  had  been  required  for  the  funeral  of 
such  a suicide  from  the  family  of  the  mother-in-law,  have  been 
burnt  in  a vast  heap  at  the  grave.  We  know  of  one  instance 
in  which  all  the  wedding  outfit,  which  had  been  a large  one, 
wardrobes,  tables,  mirrors,  ornaments,  etc.,  was  taken  out  upon 
the  street  and  destroyed  in  the  presence  of  the  girl’s  family. 
The  motive  to  this  is  of  course  revenge,  but  the  ultimate  effect 
of  such  proceedings  is  to  act  as  an  imperfect  check  upon  the 
behaviour  of  the  mother-in-law  and  her  family  toward  the 
daughter-in-law,  for  whom  while  she  lives  the  laws  of  the  land 
have  no  protection. 

When  the  funeral  actually  takes  place,  under  conditions  such 
as  we  have  described,  there  is  great  danger  that  despite  the  ex- 
ertions of  the  “ peace-talkers  ” from  both  sides,  the  dispute 
may  break  out  anew.  At  sight  of  the  girl’s  livid  face,  the  re- 
sult of  death  by  strangulation,  it  will  not  be  strange  if,  excited 
by  the  spectacle,  her  family  cry  out  “ Let  her  be  avenged  ! 
Let  her  be  avenged  ! ” To  keep  the  women  of  the  girl’s  fam- 
ily quiet  at  such  a time,  is  beyond  the  power  of  any  collection 
of  “peace-talkers,”  however  numerous  and  respectable.  If 
the  respective  parties  are  restrained  from  mutual  reviling  and 
from  a fight,  the  funeral  is  regarded  as  a successful  one.  The 
girl’s  family  complain  of  everything,  the  coffin,  the  clothing, 
the  ornaments  for  the  corpse,  and  all  the  appointments  gener- 
ally. But  they  are  soothed  by  the  comforting  reminder  that 
the  dead  are  dead,  and  cannot  be  brought  to  life,  and  also  that 
the  resources  of  the  family  of  the  mother-in-law  have  been  ut- 
terly exhausted,  the  last  acre  of  land  mortgaged  to  raise  money 
for  the  funeral,  and  that  they  are  loaded  besides  with  a mill- 
stone of  debt. 

It  is  an  ancient  observation  that  one-half  the  world  does  not 
know  how  the  other  half  lives.  It  is  quite  possible  to  dwell 


282 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


among  the  Chinese  for  a long  time  without  becoming  practically 
acquainted  with  their  modes  of  settling  those  difficulties  to 
which  their  form  of  civilization  makes  them  especially  liable. 

The  best  way  to  study  phenomena  of  this  sort  is  through 
concrete  cases.  A single  instance,  well  considered  in  all  its 
bearings,  may  be  a window  which  will  let  in  more  light  than  a 
volume  of  abstract  statements.  Whoever  is  disposed  to  enter 
into  such  studies  will  find  in  China  the  material  ready  to  his 
hand,  and  it  will  not  be  strange  if  it  is  forced  upon  his  atten- 
tion whether  he  desires  to  contemplate  it  or  not,  as  happened 
in  the  following  highly  illustrative  case.  Many  years  ago  a 
Chinese  teacher  in  the  writer’s  employ  had  leave  of  absence 
for  a definite  period,  but  when  that  period  had  expired  he 
failed  to  make  his  appearance.  This  is  so  common,  or  rather 
so  almost  universal  an  occurrence  in  China,  that  it  might  have 
passed  with  only  a temporary  notice,  but  for  the  explanation 
which  the  teacher  afterward  gave  of  his  inability  to  return,  an 
explanation  which  appeared  to  be  so  peculiar  that  he  was  re- 
quested to  reduce  it  to  the  form  of  a written  statement,  of 
which  the  following  is  a synopsis. 

An  elder  sister  of  the  teacher  was  married  to  a very  poor 
man  in  a village  called  the  “Tower  of  the  Li  Family,”  an  in- 
significant hamlet  consisting  of  only  four  families.  In  a year 
of  great  famine  (1878),  both  the  sister  and  her  husband  died, 
leaving  three  sons,  all  married.  Of  these  the  second  died,  and 
his  widow  remarried.  The  wife  of  the  elder  nephew  of  the 
teacher  also  died,  and  this  nephew  married  for  his  second  wife 
a widow,  who  had  a daughter  of  her  own,  twelve  years  of  age. 
This  widow  enjoyed  the  not  very  assuring  reputation  of  having 
beaten  her  former  mother-in-law,  and  also  of  having  caused 
the  death  of  her  first  husband.  The  wife  of  the  third  nephew 
was  a quarrelsome  woman,  and  the  two  sisters-in-law  were  al- 
ways at  sword’s  points,  especially  as  all  four  of  the  adults  and 
their  four  children  shared  the  house  and  land  together. 

In  the  month  of  August  of  that  year  the  third  nephew  started 


CHINESE  COUNTRY  GIRLS  AND  IVOMEN 


283 


for  a distant  market,  with  a boat-load  of  watermelons.  On 
leaving  he  ordered  his  wife  to  fetch  his  winter  garments,  which 
she  refused  to  do,  upon  which  they  had  a fight,  and  he  left. 
The  next  day  was  cold  and  rainy.  The  elder  nephew  was  sit- 
ting in  a neighbour’s  house,  and  heard  his  wife  engaged  in  a 
violent  quarrel  with  her  sister-in-law,  but  he  did  not  even  rise 
to  look  into  the  merits  of  the  case,  and  no  other  neighbour  in- 
tervened to  exhort  to  peace.  The  younger  sister-in-law  left 
the  house  in  a fury,  and  from  that  time  she  disappeared. 
About  noon  her  continued  absence  became  alarming  to  the 
elder  brother,  who  searched  for  her  till  dark,  and  then  sent 
word  to  her  mother’s  family  at  a village  called  “The  Little 
Camp”  two  li  distant.  This  family,  upon  hearing  of  the  dis- 
appearance of  their  daughter,  raised  a company  of  ten  or  a 
dozen  persons,  went  over  to  the  “Tower  of  the  Li  Family,” 
entered  the  yard,  and  smashed  all  the  water-jars  and  other  pot- 
tery-ware which  they  could.  “Peace-talkers”  emerged,  and 
succeeded  in  preventing  the  attacking  party  from  entering  the 
house,  or  the  damage  would  have  been  still  greater. 

After  they  had  gone,  the  “ Lord-of-bitterness  ” (/.  e.,  the 
elder  brother)  begged  his  friends  to  interfere  and  “talk  peace,” 
for  as  he  was  a resident  of  a small  village,  he  could  not  for  a 
moment  stand  before  the  men  of  “The  Little  Camp,”  which 
is  a large  village.  These  latter  belonged  to  one  of  the  numer- 
ous small  sects  which  are  styled  “ black-doors,”  or  secret  so- 
cieties. In  these  societies  there  is  often  a class  of  persons 
called  “Seers”  or  “ Bright-eyes ” ( ming-yen ),  who  profess  to 
be  able  to  tell  what  progress  the  pupils  have  made  in  their 
learning  of  the  doctrine.  Sometimes,  as  in  this  instance,  they 
also  undertake  the  functions  of  fortune-tellers.  To  the  Bright- 
eye  of  their  sect,  the  Little  Campers  applied  for  information  as 
to  what  had  become  of  the  missing  woman.  In  response  they 
learnt  that  she  had  been  beaten  to  death  and  buried  in  the  yard 
of  the  “Lord-of-bitterness.”  Upon  hearing  this,  the  family  of 
the  murdered  woman  went  to  every  door  in  their  village,  mak- 


2§4 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


ing  a kotow  at  each  door,  a common  and  significant  mode  of 
imploring  their  help.  Thus  a large  force  was  raised,  which 
went  to  the  “ Tower  of  the  Li  Family,”  armed  with  spades  to 
dig  up  the  body.  Warned  of  their  coming,  all  the  male  resi- 
dents of  this  latter  village  fled,  the  family  of  the  “ Lord-of-bit- 
terness  ’ ’ taking  refuge  at  the  village  in  the  house  of  the  local 
constable  who  had  charge  of  several  villages.  The  teacher  in 
question,  being  a near  relative  of  the  “ Lord-of-bitterness,” 
and  a man  of  intelligence  and  pleasant  manners,  was  asked  to 
look  after  the  house  of  his  nephew,  which  he  did.  Owing  to 
his  presence  and  his  politeness,  no  further  damage  was  then 
done  to  the  property,  but  the  whole  yard  was  dug  over  to  find 
the  body.  On  the  failure  of  this  quest,  the  Bright-eye  modified 
the  former  announcement  by  the  revelation  that  the  body  was 
outside  the  yard,  but  not  more  than  thirty  paces  distant.  The 
search  was  kept  up  with  spades  and  picks  by  day  and  by  night 
for  a week.  After  repeated  attempts  had  been  made  by  the 
Lord-of-bitterness  to  get  the  matter  adjusted,  and  after  the 
other  party  had  refused  to  listen  to  any  terms,  the  latter  lodged 
an  accusation  in  the  District  Magistrate’s  yamen.  The  Mag- 
istrate heard  the  case  twice,  but  each  time  the  family  of  the 
missing  woman  behaved  in  such  an  unreasonable  and  violent 
manner  that  the  official  dismissed  their  case,  merely  ordering 
the  local  constable  to  enlist  more  peace-talkers,  and  make  the 
parties  come  to  some  agreement. 

It  happened  that  about  that  time  another  case  somewhat  re- 
sembling this  had  occurred  in  that  neighbourhood,  in  which  a 
woman  was  suspected  of  having  drowned  herself.  On  this  ac- 
count a sharp  watch  was  kept  at  the  ferry  of  the  District  city, 
some  miles  lower  down  the  river,  for  any  floating  body. 

About  the  time  of  the  Magistrate’s  decision,  a woman’s  body 
appeared  abreast  of  the  ferry  and  was  identified  as  that  of  the 
missing  woman  from  the  Li  Family  Tower.  The  official  held 
an  inquest,  in  which  all  parties  made  diligent  search  for  wounds, 
but  none  being  found  the  Magistrate  compelled  the  family  of 


CHINESE  COUNTRY  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN  285 

the  woman  to  affix  their  thumb  marks  to  a paper  recognizing 
this  fact.  He  ordered  the  Lord-of-bitterness  to  buy  a good 
coffin,  clothes,  and  prepare  other  appointments  for  a showy 
funeral,  including  chanting  by  Buddhist  priests,  and  to  have 
the  body  taken  to  his  house.  He  also  instructed  the  constable 
once  more  to  secure  peace-talkers,  to  arrange  the  details  and  to 
hold  the  funeral. 

But  the  Little  Campers  proved  to  be  the  most  obstinate  of 
mortals,  and  would  not  only  listen  to  no  reason,  but  drove  the 
peace-talkers  from  their  village  with  reviling  language,  never  so 
exasperating  to  a Chinese  as  when  employed  against  those  who 
are  sacrificing  their  interests  for  those  of  the  public.  At  this 
juncture  the  husband  of  the  drowned  woman  returned  from  the 
watermelon  market,  went  himself  to  the  home  of  his  late  wife, 
and  expostulated  with  her  family  and  also  urged  peace  through 
still  other  third  parties.  But  the  Little  Campers  insisted  upon 
funeral  paraphernalia  which  would  have  cost  10,000  strings  of 
cash. 

One  more  effort  at  compromise  was  made,  by  the  visit  of  an 
uncle  of  the  teacher  who  was  guarding  the  house  of  the  Lord- 
of-bitterness,  to  the  Little  Campers.  The  latter  now  altered 
their  demands  to  a payment  of  800  strings  of  cash,  which  by 
much  chaffering  was  eventually  reduced  to  400.  The  Lord-of- 
bitterness  offered  250  strings,  but  this  was  rejected  with  disdain. 

Upon  the  failure  of  these  numerous  negotiations,  the  local 
constable  presented  another  complaint  to  the  Magistrate,  recit- 
ing the  facts  in  the  repeated  refusal,  on  the  part  of  the  family 
of  the  woman,  to  come  to  any  terms.  The  Magistrate,  recog- 
nizing the  case  as  one  in  which  the  relatives  were  resolved  to 
make  the  utmost  possible  capital  out  of  a dead  body,  ordered 
eight  men  from  his  own  yamen  to  go  on  that  very  day  and  at- 
tend the  funeral,  in  order  to  insure  that  there  should  be  no 
breach  of  peace.  These  yamen-runners,  after  the  customary 
Chinese  manner,  hoped  to  be  bribed  to  do  as  they  were  ordered 
and  did  not  go  to  the  place  at  all.  The  Lord-of-bitterness 


286 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


and  all  his  neighbours  continued  in  obscurity,  but  in  the  in- 
terval the  men  from  the  Little  Camp  again  gathered  their  hosts, 
and  made  four  more  visits  to  the  premises  at  the  Li  Family 
Tower,  breaking  everything  which  they  could  lay  their  hands 
upon.  The  next  day  the  yamen-runners  arrived,  and  the  Lord- 
of-bittemess,  now  thoroughly  exasperated,  succeeded  in  collect- 
ing a force  of  several  hundred  men  from  other  villages,  intend- 
ing at  all  hazards  to  hold  the  funeral  and  also  to  have  a general 
fight,  if  need  arose.  But  the  men  of  the  Little  Camp  failed  to 
put  in  an  appearance  at  this  time,  and  the  funeral  accordingly 
at  last  took  place.  The  friends  of  the  woman,  however,  obsti- 
nately refused  to  consider  the  matter  as  settled,  at  which  point 
the  curtain  falls,  with  a plentiful  promise  of  future  lawsuits, 
fights,  and  ruin. 

The  reader  who  is  sufficiently  interested  in  the  inner-work- 
ing of  the  life  of  the  Chinese  to  follow  the  tangled  thread  of  a 
tale  like  this,  is  rewarded  by  the  perception  of  several  important 
facts.  It  is  an  axiom  in  China  that  the  family  of  the  married 
daughter  holds  its  head  down,  while  the  family  of  the  man 
whom  she  has  married  holds  its  head  up.  But  in  case  of  the 
violent  death  of  the  married  woman  all  this  is  reversed,  and  by 
a natural  process  of  reaction  the  family  of  the  married  woman 
becomes  a fierce  and  formidable  antagonist. 

Principles  such  as  these  have  but  to  be  put  in  issue  between 
two  large  villages,  or  families,  and  we  have  the  well-known 
clan  fights  of  southern  China,  in  all  their  perennial  bitterness 
and  intensity.  One  of  the  weakest  parts  of  the  Chinese  social 
fabric  is  the  insecurity  of  the  life  and  happiness  of  woman,  but 
no  structure  is  stronger  than  its  weakest  part,  and  Chinese 
society  is  no  exception  to  this  law.  Every  year  thousands 
upon  thousands  of  Chinese  wives  commit  suicide,  tens  of  thou- 
sands of  other  persons  are  thereby  involved  in  serious  trouble, 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  yet  others  are  dragged  in  as  co-part- 
ners  in  the  difficulty,  and  millions  of  dollars  are  expended  in 
extravagant  funerals  and  ruinous  lawsuits.  And  all  this  is  the 


CHINESE  COUNTRY  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 


287 


outcome  of  the  Confucian  theory  that  a wife  has  no  rights 
which  a husband  is  bound  to  respect.  The  law  affords  her  no 
protection  while  she  lives,  and  such  justice  as  she  is  able  with 
difficulty  to  exact  is  strictly  a post  mortem  concession. 

The  reality  of  the  evils  of  the  Chinese  system  of  marriages 
is  evidenced  by  the  extreme  expedients  to  which  unmarried 
girls  sometimes  resort,  to  avoid  matrimony.  Chinese  news- 
papers not  infrequently  contain  references  to  organized  socie- 
ties of  young  maidens,  who  solemnly  vow  never  to  wed.  The 
following  paragraphs  are  translated  from  a Chinese  newspaper 
called  the  Shih  Pao : 

SUICIDE  AS  A VIRTUE. 

There  is  a prevailing  custom  in  a district  called  Shun-t£  in 
the  Canton  province,  among  female  society  to  form  different 
kinds  of  sisterhoods  such  as  “All  pure”  sisterhoods,  “Never- 
to-be-married  ” sisterhoods,  etc.  Each  sisterhood  consists  of 
about  ten  young  maidens  who  swear  vows  to  heaven  never  to 
get  married,  as  they  regard  marriages  as  something  horrid,  be- 
lieving that  their  married  lives  would  be  miserable  and  unholy ; 
and  their  parents  fail  to  prevail  upon  them  to  yield. 

A sad  case  has  just  happened : a band  of  young  maidens 
ended  their  existence  in  this  world  by  drowning  themselves  in 
the  Dragon  River  because  one  of  them  was  forced  by  her  par- 
ents to  be  married.  She  was  engaged  in  her  childhood  before 
she  joined  this  sisterhood.  When  her  parents  had  made  all 
the  necessary  arrangements  for  her  marriage  she  reported  the 
affair  to  the  other  members  of  her  sisterhood  who  at  once 
agreed  to  die  for  her  cause,  if  she  remained  constant  to  her 
sworn  vows  to  be  single  and  virtuous.  Should  she  violate  the 
laws  of  the  sisterhood  and  yield  to  her  parents,  her  life  was  to 
be  made  most  unpleasant  by  the  other  members  and  she  was  to 
be  taunted  as  a worthless  being.  She  consulted  with  them  as 
to  the  best  mode  of  escaping  this  marriage,  and  they  all  agreed 


288 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


to  die  with  her,  if  she  could  plan  to  run  away  from  her  parents 
on  the  night  of  the  marriage. 

As  there  were  many  friends  to  watch  her  movements,  it  was 
almost  impossible  for  her  to  escape,  so  she  attempted  her  life 
by  swallowing  a gold  ring,  but  any  serious  consequence  that 
might  have  resulted  was  prevented  by  the  administration  of  a 
powerful  emetic.  She  was  finally  taken  by  force  and  made 
over  to  the  male  side,  to  her  great  grief.  According  to  the 
usual  custom  she  was  allowed  to  return  to  her  parents.  During 
all  this  time  she  was  planning  a way  to  escape  to  her  sisters. 
By  bribing  the  female  servants  she  was  taken  one  night  to  her 
sisters  under  the  cover  of  darkness.  The  sisters  at  once  joined 
with  her  in  terminating  their  lives  by  jumping  into  the  Dragon 
River  with  its  swift  currents,  which  rapidly  carried  them  off. 

This  kind  of  tragedy  is  not  uncommon  in  this  part  of  the 
land.  The  officials  have  from  time  to  time  tried  to  check  the 
formation  of  such  sisterhoods,  but  all  their  efforts  were  in  vain. 
Girls  must  have  reasons  of  their  own  for  establishing  such 
societies.  Married  life  must  have  been  proved  by  many  in 
that  region  to  have  been  not  altogether  too  sweet.  However, 
such  wholesale  suicide  must  be  prevented  by  law  if  the  parents 
have  no  control  over  their  daughters. 

It  is  well  known  that  Chinese  law  recognizes  seven  grounds 
for  the  divorce  of  a wife,  as  follows  : childlessness,  wanton  con- 
duct, neglect  of  husband’s  parents,  loquacity  {to  yen),  thievish- 
ness, jealousy,  malignant  disease.  The  requisites  for  a Chinese 
wife  are  by  no  means  sure  to  be  exacting.  A man  in  the 
writer’s  employ,  who  was  thinking  of  giving  up  his  single  life, 
on  being  questioned  as  to  what  sort  of  a wife  he  preferred, 
compendiously  replied,  “It  is  enough  if  she  is  neither  bald 
nor  idiotic.”  In  a country  where  the  avowed  end  of  marriage 
is  to  raise  up  a posterity  to  burn  incense  at  the  ancestral  graves, 
it  is  not  strange  that  “childlessness”  should  rank  first  among 
the  grounds  for  divorce.  It  would  be  an  error,  however,  to 
infer  that  simply  because  they  are  designated  in  the  Imperial 


CHINESE  COUNTRY  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN  289 

code  of  laws,  either  this  or  any  other  of  the  above  mentioned, 
are  the  ordinary  occasions  of  divorce. 

It  is  always  difficult  to  arrive  at  just  conclusions  in  regard  to 
facts  of  a high  degree  of  complexity,  especially  in  regard  to 
the  Chinese.  But  so  far  as  we  can  perceive,  the  truth  appears 
to  be  that  divorce  in  China  is  by  no  means  so  common  as 
might  be  expected  by  reasoning  from  the  law  just  quoted. 
Probably  the  most  common  cause  is  adultery,  for  the  reason 
that  this  is  the  crime  most  fatal  to  the  existence  of  the  family. 

But  it  must  be  distinctly  understood  that  in  every  case  of 
divorce,  there  is  a factor  to  be  taken  into  account  which  the 
law  does  not  even  consider.  This  is  the  family  of  the  woman, 
and,  as  we  have  seen,  it  is  a factor  of  great  importance,  and 
by  no  means  to  be  disregarded.  It  is  very  certain  that  the 
family  of  the  woman  will  resist  any  divorce  which  they  con- 
sider to  be  unjust  or  disgraceful,  not  merely  on  account  of  the 
loss  of  “face,”  but  for  another  reason  even  more  powerful. 

In  China  a woman  cannot  return  to  her  parent’s  home  after 
an  unhappy  marriage,  as  is  often  done  in  Western  lands,  be- 
cause there  is  no  provision  for  her  support.  Enough  land  is 
set  apart  for  the  maintenance  of  the  parents,  and  after  that  has 
been  provided  for,  the  remainder  is  divided  among  the  brothers. 
No  lot  or  portion  falls  to  any  sister.  It  is  this  which  makes  it 
imperative  that  every  woman  should  be  married,  that  she  may 
have  some  visible  means  of  support.  After  her  parents  are 
dead,  her  brothers,  or  more  certainly  her  brothers’  wives,  would 
drive  her  from  the  premises,  as  an  alien  who  had  no  business 
to  depend  upon  their  family  when  she  “belongs”  to  another. 
Under  this  state  of  things,  it  is  not  very  likely  that  a husband 
would  be  allowed  to  divorce  his  wife  except  for  a valid  cause, 
unless  there  should  be  some  opportunity  for  her  to  “take  a 
step,”  that  is,  to  remarry  elsewhere. 

Next  to  adultery,  the  most  common  cause  of  Chinese  divorce 
is  thought  to  be  what  Western  laws  euphemistically  term  in- 
compatibility, by  which  is  meant,  in  this  case,  such  constant 


290 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


domestic  brawls  as  to  make  life,  even  to  a Chinese,  not  worth 
living.  It  is  needless  to  remark  that  when  things  have  reached 
this  pitch,  they  must  be  very  bad  indeed.  Every  one  of  the 
above  cited  causes  for  divorce  evidently  affords  room  for  the 
loosest  construction  of  the  facts,  and  if  the  law  were  left  to  its 
own  execution,  with  no  restraint  from  the  wife’s  family,  the 
grossest  injustice  might  be  constantly  committed.  As  it  is, 
whatever  settlement  is  arrived  at  in  any  particular  case,  must 
be  the  result  of  a compromise,  in  which  the  friends  of  the 
weaker  party  take  care  to  see  that  their  rights  are  considered. 

We  have  repeatedly  referred  to  the  imperative  necessity  that 
every  Chinese  youth  should  be  married.  To  a foreigner  there 
is  a mixture  of  the  ludicrous  and  the  pathetic  in  the  attitude 
of  the  average  parent,  in  regard  to  a marriage  of  a son  who  has 
nearly  reached  the  age  of  twenty  and  is  still  single.  It  is  a 
Chinese  aphorism  of  ancient  times  that  when  sons  and  daugh- 
ters are  once  married,  “the  great  business  of  life  has  been 
despatched.”  Chinese  parents  look  upon  the  marriage  of  their 
sons  just  as  Western  parents  look  upon  the  matter  of  taking 
young  boys  out  of  their  early  dresses  and  putting  them  into 
trousers.  The  serious  part  of  life  cannot  be  begun  until  this 
is  done,  and  to  delay  it  is  ridiculous  and  irrational. 

There  is  a sentiment  of  false  modesty  which  forbids  the  per- 
sons most  interested  in  a marriage,  even  to  refer  to  it.  It  is 
often  impossible  for  any  one  but  the  mother  to  hint  to  a girl 
that  it  is  time  she  were  betrothed,  an  announcement  which  is 
naturally  the  frequent  occasion  for  stormy  scenes. 

A Chinese  teacher  well  known  to  the  writer,  having  gradu- 
ated from  a missionary  college  at  the  age  of  twenty-three,  re- 
membered that  he  was  not  betrothed.  When  matters  had  been 
arranged  without  his  appearing  to  be  aware  of  the  fact  (al- 
though he  was  consulted  at  each  step)  it  became  necessary  to 
visit  his  home  to  arrange  with  his  parents  the  time  of  the  mar- 
riage. But  the  sensitive  young  man  refused  to  go  on  this 
errand  himself,  and  posted  off  a “yard  uncle,”  urging  as  a 


CHINESE  COUNTRY  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 


291 


more  than  sufficient  reason : “ How  could  / speak  to  my  father 
and  mother  about  such  a thing  as  that  ? ’ ’ 

Since  this  paragraph  was  written  a Chinese  friend  called  on 
the  writer  with  an  air  of  pleased  embarrassment  about  “a  little 
matter  ” which  seemed  to  interest  him.  He  is  more  than  forty 
years  of  age,  and  had  never  been  married.  He  has  two  broth- 
ers, all  three  sharing  in  common  a property  amounting  to  less 
than  two  English  acres.  This  brother  had  been  at  home  for 
some  months,  during  which  there  was  no  mention  of  matri- 
mony, nor  any  thought  of  it.  Having  left  home  for  a few 
weeks,  before  the  time  was  nearly  expired  the  elder  brother 
posted  off  a special  messenger  to  a distance  of  more  than  300  li 
to  mention  to  him  the  fact  that  he  had  suddenly  arranged  a be- 
trothal for  this  forty  years  old  bachelor,  to  a girl  of  seventeen, 
whose  friends  were  now  pressing  for  an  immediate  execution  of 
the  contract.  The  interview  closed  with  the  expression  of  an 
earnest  wish  on  the  part  of  the  Chinese  that  his  foreign  friend 
would  see  his  way  clear  to  “ a loan  ” of  twenty  strings  of  cash 
for  the  bride’s  outfit,  the  bridegroom  having  no  independent 
property  whatever,  and  no  income.  The  comment  of  ninety- 
nine  out  of  an  hundred  Chinese  on  this  match,  or  on  any  other 
in  similar  circumstances  would  be  compendiously  condensed  in 
the  single  word  “ hao ,”  meaning  when  fully  explicated,  “It  is 
well;  this  is  what  certainly  ought  to  be  done  now.”  Questions 
of  expense  appear  to  them  as  irrelevant  as  they  would  to  us  if 
the  matter  was  the  burial  of  a parent. 

Chinese  parents  are  never  willing  to  run  the  risk  of  having 
the  marriage  of  any  of  their  children,  especially  the  sons,  post- 
poned until  after  the  death  of  their  parents.  They  often  feel 
uncertain  whether  the  children  already  married  will  be  willing 
to  make  the  proper  provision  for  the  event,  or  indeed  that  they 
will  let  it  take  place  at  all.  Affairs  of  this  sort  involve  the 
partition  of  the  land,  with  a portion  to  each  married  son,  and 
it  is  not  in  human  nature  to  wish  to  multiply  the  sharers  in  a 
property  which  is  too  often  at  the  best  wholly  inadequate.  For 


292 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


this  cause,  every  prudent  parent  wishes  to  see  this  “main  busi- 
ness of  life,”  put  through  while  he  is  able  to  superintend  the 
details. 

The  inexorable  necessity  for  the  marriage  of  sons  is  not  sus- 
pended by  the  fact  that  the  child  is  wholly  unsuited  for  a real 
marriage,  or  indeed  incapable  of  it.  Cases  constantly  occur, 
in  which  a boy  who  is  a hopeless  and  helpless  cripple  is  mar- 
ried to  a girl,  whose  family  only  assent  to  the  arrangement,  be- 
cause of  the  advantageous  terms  which  are  offered.  Children 
who  are  subject  to  epileptic  or  other  forms  of  fits,  those  who 
are  more  or  less  insane,  and  even  those  who  are  wholly  idiotic, 
all  may  have,  and  do  have,  wives,  provided  only  that  the  fam- 
ilies of  the  boys  were  in  good  circumstances.  The  inevitable 
result  of  this  violation  of  the  laws  of  nature,  is  an  infinity  of 
suffering  for  the  girls  whose  lives  are  thus  wrecked,  and  the  ev- 
olution of  a wealth  of  scandal. 

There  is  another  feature  of  Chinese  married  life,  to  which 
little  attention  seems  to  have  been  paid  by  foreigners,  but 
which  is  well  worth  investigation.  It  is  the  kidnapping  of  le- 
gally married  wives.  The  method  by  which  this  may  be  ac- 
complished, and  the  difficulty  of  tracking  those  who  do  it, 
may  be  illustrated  by  the  following  case,  with  the  principal 
parties  in  which,  the  father  and  father-in-law  of  the  bride,  the 
writer  is  acquainted,  having  been  present  at  the  wedding  in 
December,  1881. 

The  bride  herself,  was,  as  so  often,  a mere  child.  On  her 
frequent  visits  to  her  native  village,  which  local  custom  allows, 
the  bride  did  not  spend  much  of  her  time  at  her  own  home, 
where  she  was  probably  not  made  very  welcome  by  her  step- 
mother, but  went  instead  to  her  grandmother’s,  who  was  old, 
half  blind,  and  ill  supplied  with  bedding.  In  a neighbouring 
yard  lived  a cousin  of  the  girl,  who  was  a “salt  inspector,” 
that  is,  one  whose  duty  is  to  seize  dealers  in  smuggled  salt. 
His  wife  was  the  daughter  of  a widow,  who  was  reported  to 
be  herself  a dealer  in  smuggled  salt,  of  course  with  the  conniv- 


CHINESE  COUNTRY  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 


293 


ance  of  her  son-in-law.  This  couple  were  said  to  have  been 
married  without  the  intervention  of  go-betweens,  and  hence 
the  most  flagitious  conduct  was  to  be  expected  from  them. 
The  girl  got  into  the  habit,  whenever  she  visited  her  village,  of 
going  to  the  house  of  this  cousin,  and  not  to  that  of  her  father. 
The  cousin  was  absent  much  of  the  time,  on  his  business  in 
connection  with  the  suppression  (or  the  sale)  of  smuggled  salt. 
Upon  one  occasion,  after  a ten  days’  visit  to  her  native  village 
she  returned  to  the  home  of  her  husband  (also  a mere  child), 
where  she  stayed  five  days,  and  then  went  again  to  her  own 
village.  A younger  sister-in-law,  sixteen  years  of  age,  went 
with  her  two-thirds  of  the  way,  at  which  point  the  bride  sent 
her  escort  back  and  proceeded  alone.  Some  days  after  this 
the  own  sister  of  the  bride  met  the  father-in-law  at  a fair,  and 
inquired  why  the  bride  did  not  return  to  her  own  village  as 
agreed.  Her  absence  from  both  homes  was  thus  for  the  first 
time  discovered.  The  steps  taken  to  follow  her  are  an  excel- 
lent illustration  of  certain  phases  of  Chinese  life.  It  is  almost 
impossible  in  China  for  any  one  to  do  anything  so  secretly  that 
some  other  persons  do  not  know  of  it,  and  in  an  affair  so  se- 
rious as  the  disappearance  outright  of  a young  bride,  the 
chances  of  successful  concealment  would  seem  to  be  very 
slight. 

The  father-in-law  of  the  girl  went  to  the  village  where  she 
had  lived,  and  learned  that  upon  the  occasion  of  her  home 
visits  the  child  had  been  allowed  to  go  where  she  pleased,  and 
that  once  after  coming  in  from  her  cousin’s,  she  had  been 
heard  to  remark  that  she  herself  was  worth  as  much  as  five 
ounces  of  silver.  It  was  also  reported  that  the  wife  of  the 
cousin  had  been  observed  waiting  for  the  missing  girl,  on  the 
night  she  was  last  seen  at  the  time  when  she  dismissed  the  sis- 
ter-in-law who  had  accompanied  her.  This  was  all  the  clue 
that  could  be  got. 

The  father-in-law  now  presented  a petition  to  the  District 
Magistrate,  reciting  the  facts  and  accusing  the  girl’s  father,  and 


294 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


others.  This  was  followed  by  counter  accusations  from  the 
father,  the  cousin,  and  his  mother-in-law.  The  official  reply 
to  the  complaint  was  an  order  to  the  local  constable  to  find  the 
girl.  The  constable  was  a wholly  incompetent  person,  and 
could  not  have  found  her  if  he  had  tried.  A second  petition 
to  the  Magistrate  was  followed  by  the  same  reply.  This  signi- 
fied that  there  was  no  hope  from  that  official,  who  took  no  in- 
terest in  the  matter. 

After  these  repeated  failures  of  justice,  the  poor  father-in-law 
resolved  to  make  one  more  trial,  a desperate  expedient,  but  the 
only  one  which  was  left.  He  seized  the  occasion  of  the  pass- 
ing of  the  District  official  through  that  village,  to  kneel  in  front 
of  the  sedan-chair  and  proclaim  his  grievance.  The  Magis- 
trate merely  repeated  what  had  been  said  in  court,  that  he  knew 
nothing  about  the  matter  ; that  it  was  not  his  business  to  find 
the  cattle  of  those  who  might  lose  them,  neither  was  it  his 
function  to  recover  daughters-in-law.  He  also  expressed  the 
opinion  that  the  father-in-law  was  lacking  in  proof  of  his  case, 
and  was  falsely  accusing  parties  who  were  innocent,  and  then 
ordered  his  chair  to  proceed. 

The  only  remaining  hope  of  tracing  the  missing  person  was 
to  follow  up  chance  clues.  In  such  a case,  no  one  will  give  any 
information  whatever,  no  matter  what  he  may  know,  for  the 
reason  that  the  possible  effect  may  be  to  drag  him  as  witness 
into  a fearful  lawsuit,  which  is  only  one  step  removed  from  be- 
ing the  principal  victim  oneself.  This  is  so  universal  a deter- 
rent in  a quest  of  this  sort  as  almost  to  bar  all  progress.  Those 
who  were  interested  in  this  particular  case  were  led  to  recall  an- 
other, which  occurred  many  years  before  in  a village  immedi- 
ately contiguous,  where  the  wife  of  a man  who  was  working  for 
some  one  else  was  taken  off  (of  course  with  her  consent)  while 
he  was  absent.  In  this  instance,  although  the  husband  was 
able  to  ascertain  to  what  village  she  had  been  taken,  yet  as  it 
was  a large  one  he  could  never  get  any  further  trace  of  her, 
and  she  died  there.  The  writer  is  personally  acquainted  with 


CHINESE  COUNTRY  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 


295 


two  families  in  which  such  occurrences  have  taken  place,  and 
with  a third,  the  wife  in  which,  when  living  with  her  first  hus- 
band who  divorced  her,  was  to  have  been  kidnapped,  if  the 
plan  could  have  been  carried  out. 

It  is  of  course  impossible  to  form  any  correct  idea  as  to  the 
extent  to  which  the  kidnapping  of  married  women  is  carried  in 
China,  but  there  are  a few  little  windows  through  which  glimp- 
ses may  be  had  of  regions  beyond  our  ordinary  vision.  Such 
glimpses  may  be  frequently  gained  from  accounts  published  in 
Chinese  native  newspapers,  in  which  such  accounts  often  form 
a staple  topic.  In  the  absence  of  any  acquaintance  with  the 
wider  interests  of  the  empire,  these  piquant  personalities  seem 
to  many  Chinese  very  entertaining,  as  items  of  a similar  sort 
do  to  certain  readers  in  Western  lands.  Such  gossip  is  col- 
lected at  the  yamens,  where  many  of  the  cases  reported  have 
already  reached  the  stage  of  a prosecution,  and  others  are  quietly 
adjusted  by  “ peace-talkers.”  Similar  information  may  also  be 
obtained  from  occasional  memorials  printed  in  the  Peking  Ga- 
zette. It  not  seldom  happens  that  these  kidnapping  cases  lead 
to  murder,  and  perhaps  to  wholesale  fighting,  ending  in  many 
deaths,  which  render  it  necessary  for  a Governor  to  report  the 
facts  and  proceedings  to  Peking.  From  data  of  this  sort  one 
would  infer  that,  as  the  proverb  says,  “The  crow  is  everywhere 
equally  black.” 

We  have  spoken  of  the  sale  of  girls  by  their  parents,  and 
have  now  to  refer  to  the  more  or  less  common  cases  of  the  sale 
of  wives  by  their  husbands.  This  is  generally  due  to  the  press 
of  poverty,  and  the  writer  is  acquainted  with  a Chinese  who, 
being  deeply  in  debt,  was  thrown  into  prison  from  which  he 
found  deliverance  hopeless.  He  accordingly  sent  word  to  his 
relatives  to  have  his  wife  sold,  which  was  done,  and  with  the 
proceeds  the  man  was  able  to  buy  his  escape.  The  frequency 
of  such  sales  may  be  said  to  bear  a direct  ratio  to  the  price  of 
grain. 

There  is  another  method  of  selling  wives,  with  which  the 


296 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


Chinese  are  acquainted,  which  can  be  adopted  whenever  the 
pressure  of  life  at  home  becomes  too  hard  to  be  borne.  The 
husband  and  wife  then  start  off  on  a begging  expedition  toward 
a region  in  which  the  crops  have  been  good.  In  a bad  year, 
there  are  thousands  of  such  persons  roaming  about  the  country, 
picking  up  a scanty  subsistence  wherever  they  can.  The  man 
who  wishes  to  sell  his  wife  represents  her  as  his  sister,  and  de- 
clares that  they  are  forced  by  hunger  to  part  company.  He 
reluctantly  makes  up  his  mind  to  sell  her  to  some  one  who  is  in 
need  of  a wife,  and  who  can  get  one  more  cheaply  by  this  proc- 
ess than  by  any  other.  To  this  arrangement  the  woman  tear- 
fully assents,  the  money  is  paid  to  her  “brother,”  and  he  de- 
parts, to  be  seen  no  more.  After  a few  days  or  a few  weeks  in 
her  new  home,  the  newly  married  “sister  ” contrives  to  steal 
out  in  the  evening  with  all  of  her  own  clothes  and  as  many 
more  as  she  can  collect,  and  rejoins  her  “brother,”  setting  out 
with  him  for  “ fresh  woods  and  pastures  new.”  With  that 
keen  instinct  for  analogy  which  characterizes  the  Chinese,  they 
have  invented  for  this  proceeding  the  name  of  “ falconing  with 
a woman,”  likening  it  to  the  sport  of  a man  who  places  his 
hawk  on  his  wrist,  and  releases  it  when  he  sees  game  in  sight, 
only  that  the  bird  may  speedily  return.  It  is  a popular  prov- 
erb, that  “ playing  the  falcon  with  a woman  ” implies  a plot  in 
which  two  persons  are  concerned. 

An  inquirer  is  told  that  in  some  districts  this  practice  of 
“ falconing  ” is  exceedingly  common,  for  the  supply  of  gullible 
persons  who  hope  to  buy  a wife  at  a cheaper  rate  than  usual 
never  fails. 

The  Chinese  ridicule  any  one  who  seems  to  be  infatuated 
with  a bargain  in  which  a woman  is  concerned,  but  it  is  not 
improbable  that  under  similar  circumstances  they  themselves 
would  do  the  same.  An  old  fellow  living  in  the  same  village 
as  the  writer  bought  a woman  under  what  he  considered  excep- 
tionally profitable  conditions,  and  lest  she  should  escape,  he 
anchored  her  in  the  yard  fastened  to  a peg  like  a donkey.  His 


CHINESE  COUNTRY  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 


297 


neighbours  laughed  at  him,  and  he  at  them,  until  the  woman 
suddenly  disappeared,  an  event  which  reduced  him  to  a more 
sober  view  of  the  “ five  relations.” 

Chinese  public  sentiment  is  altogether  on  the  right  side  of 
this  question,  but  Chinese  practice  is  not  under  the  guidance  of 
sentiment  of  any  kind.  It  is  proverbial  that  a judicious  man 
will  never  marry  a woman  who  has  a living  husband,  for  the 
sufficient  reason  that  he  never  can  foresee  the  consequences, 
which  are  often  serious.  But  the  instinct  of  trying  to  cheat 
Fate  is  in  all  Chinese  most  vigorous.  “ Cheaper  than  an 
animal,”  was  the  self-complacent  comment  of  a Chinese  friend 
of  the  writer’s  in  regard  to  his  own  second  marriage  where  he 
had  paid  no  money  for  his  wife,  but  only  an  allowance  for  out- 
fit. But  when  the  elder  sister-in-law  had  been  heard  from, 
this  same  individual  was  dissolved  in  tears  for  many  moons, 
since  his  future  peace  seemed  to  have  been  wrecked. 

It  is  a natural  sequence  to  the  Chinese  doctrine  of  the  neces- 
sity of  having  male  children  that,  in  case  this  becomes  un- 
likely, a secondary  wife,  or  concubine,  should  be  taken,  with 
that  end  in  view.  As  a matter  of  fact  this  practice  is  confined 
to  a comparatively  small  number  of  families,  mainly  those  in 
fairly  good  circumstances,  for  no  others  could  afford  the  ex- 
pense. The  evils  of  this  expedient  are  well  recognized,  and  it 
is  fortunate  for  Chinese  society  that  resort  is  not  had  to  it  on  a 
much  greater  scale  than  appears  to  be  the  case.  The  practical 
turn  of  the  Chinese  mind  has  suggested  to  them  a much  simpler 
method  of  arriving  at  the  intended  results,  by  a much  less  ob- 
jectionable method.  This  is  the  well-known  adoption  of  chil- 
dren from  collateral  branches  of  the  family,  already  mentioned, 
so  as  to  keep  the  line  of  succession  intact,  and  prevent  the  ex- 
tinction of  any  particular  branch. 

It  not  infrequently  happens  that  the  son  in  a family  dies  be- 
fore he  is  married,  and  that  it  is  desirable  to  adopt,  not  a son, 
but  a grandson.  There  is  however,  to  the  Chinese,  a kind  of 
paradox  in  adopting  a grandson,  when  the  son  has  not  been 


298 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


married.  To  remedy  this  defect  after  the  boy  had  died  un- 
married would,  to  the  practical  Occidental,  appear  impossible, 
but  it  is  not  so  to  the  sentimental  Chinese.  To  meet  this  exi- 
gency they  have  invented  the  practice  of  marrying  the  dead , 
which  is  certainly  among  the  most  singular  of  the  many  singu- 
lar performances  to  be  met  with  in  China. 

In  order  to  keep  the  line  of  succession  unbroken,  it  is  thought 
desirable  that  each  generation  should  have  its  proper  represent- 
atives, whether  they  really  were  or  were  not  links  in  the  chain. 
It  is  only  in  families  where  there  is  some  considerable  property 
that  this  question  is  likely  to  arise.  Where  it  does  arise,  and 
where  a lad  has  died  for  whom  it  is  thought  desirable  to  take  a 
post-mortem  wife,  the  family  cast  about  to  hear  of  some  young 
girl  who  has  also  died  recently.  A proposition  is  then  made, 
by  the  usual  intermediaries,  for  the  union  of  these  two  corpses 
in  the  bonds  of  matrimony  ! It  is  probably  only  poor  families 
to  which  such  a proposition  in  regard  to  their  daughter  would 
be  made ; to  no  others  would  it  be  any  object.  If  it  is  ac- 
cepted, there  is  a combination  of  a wedding  and  a funeral,  in 
the  process  of  which  the  deceased  “ bride  ” will  be  taken  by  a 
large  number  of  bearers  to  the  cemetery  of  the  other  family, 
and  laid  beside  her  “husband  ” ! The  newly  adopted  grand- 
son worships  the  corpse  of  his  “mother,”  and  the  other  cere- 
monies proceed  in  the  usual  way. 

The  writer  was  personally  acquainted  with  a Chinese  girl 
who  after  her  death  was  thus  “ married  ” to  a dead  boy  in  an- 
other village.  Upon  being  questioned  in  regard  to  the  matter, 
her  father  admitted  that  it  was  not  an  entirely  rational  proce- 
dure, but  remarked  that  the  girl’s  mother  was  in  favour  of  ac- 
cepting the  offer.  The  real  motive  in  this  case  was  undoubtedly 
a desire  to  have  a showy  funeral  at  the  expense  of  another  family, 
for  a child  who  was  totally  blind,  and  whose  own  parents  were 
too  poor  at  her  death  to  do  more  than  wrap  her  body  in  a mat. 

The  practice  of  marrying  one  dead  person  to  another  is  very 
far  from  uncommon  to  China.  Its  ultimate  root  is  found  in  the 


CHINESE  COUNTRY  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 


299 


famous  dictum  of  Mencius,  that  of  the  three  lines  of  unfilial 
conduct  the  chief  is  to  leave  no  posterity.  This  utterance  is 
one  upon  which  the  whole  domestic  life  of  the  Chinese  seems 
to  have  rested  for  ages.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  those  Chinese 
who  have  not  yet  married  are  accounted  as  of  no  importance. 
When  they  die,  they  are,  if  children,  “thrown  out”  either 
literally  or  figuratively,  and  are  not  allowed  a place  in  the 
family  graveyards.  These  belong  exclusively  to  those  who  are 
mated,  and  occasional  bachelors  must  expect  no  welcome 
there.  The  same  principle  seems  to  be  applicable  to  those 
who  have  died,  and  whose  wives  have  remarried.  It  is  for 
such  cases  that  the  strange  plan  of  marrying  a living  woman  to 
a dead  husband  has  been  invented.  The  motive  on  the  part 
of  the  woman  could  be  only  that  of  saving  herself  from  starva- 
tion, a fate  which  often  hangs  imminent  over  poor  Chinese 
widows  who  do  not  remarry.  The  motive  on  the  part  of  the 
family  of  the  deceased  husband  is  to  make  the  ancestral  graves 
complete.  If  the  family  of  the  deceased  is  not  moderately  well 
off,  they  would  not  go  to  the  expense  and  trouble  of  bringing 
in  a wife  for  a dead  husband.  But  if  she  were  well  off,  the 
widow  would  probably  not  have  remarried.  It  thus  appears 
the  marriage  of  a living  woman  to  a dead  man  is  likely  to 
be  confined  to  cases  where  the  family  being  poor,  the  widow 
remarried,  but  where  the  family  circumstances  having  subse- 
quently materially  improved,  it  became  an  object  to  arrange  as 
already  explained  to  fill  the  threatened  graveyard  gap. 

It  is  perhaps  for  this  reason  that  cases  of  such  marriage  ap- 
pear to  be  relatively  rare,  so  rare  indeed,  that  many  even  intel- 
ligent and  educated  Chinese  have  never  heard  of  them  at  all, 
and  perhaps  stoutly  deny  their  existence.  Sufficient  inquiry, 
however,  may  not  improbably  develop  here  and  there  specific 
cases  of  conformity  to  this  custom,  so  repellent  to  our  thought, 
but  to  the  Chinese  natural  and  rational. 

As  already  mentioned,  in  cases  where  it  has  been  decided  to 
adopt  a son,  and  where  there  are  no  suitable  candidates  within 


300 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


the  family  circle,  a lad  may  be  taken  from  a different  family, 
sometimes  related,  sometimes  connected,  sometimes  neither  re- 
lated nor  connected,  and  sometimes  he  may  even  be  a total 
stranger  merely  “ picked  up.”  The  result  of  this  latter  prac- 
tice especially  is  often  very  disappointing  and  painful  for  the 
couple  who  have  gone  to  so  much  trouble  to  find  an  heir,  and 
who  too  often  discover  that  they  have  spent  their  strength 
in  vain,  and  that  filial  piety  is  not  a commodity  to  be  had  for 
the  asking. 

But  whatever  its  attendant  evils,  which  are  undoubtedly 
many  and  great,  the  Chinese  plan  of  adoption  is  always  in- 
comparably preferable  to  that  of  bringing  into  the  yard  a 
“little  wife.”  It  is  by  no  means  singular  that  the  Chinese 
have  given  to  the  relations  between  the  real  wife  and  the  sup- 
plementary one,  the  significant  name  of  “sipping  vinegar.” 

We  happen  to  have  been  personally  acquainted  with  several 
families  in  which  a concubine  had  been  introduced.  In  two 
of  them,  the  secondary  wives  had  been  bought  because  they 
were  to  be  had  at  a cheap  rate  in  a year  of  famine.  One  of 
these  poor  creatures  came  one  day  running  into  the  yard  of  a 
Chinese  family  with  whom  the  writer  was  living,  screaming  and 
dishevelled,  as  the  result  of  “vinegar  sipping.”  The  man 
who  had  taken  her  openly  reviled  his  mother  in  the  most 
shameless  way,  upon  her  remonstrance  at  the  act. 

In  a second  instance,  a man  past  middle-life  thought  by  this 
means  to  make  sure  of  a son,  but  was  greatly  disappointed  in 
the  result.  He  was  in  the  habit  of  inviting  elderly  Chinese 
women  of  his  acquaintance  to  go  to  his  house,  and  “exhort” 
his  wives  to  stop  “sipping  vinegar,”  a labour  which  was  at- 
tended with  very  negative  results.  When  he  died,  the  last 
wife  was  driven  out  to  return  to  her  relatives,  although  for  a 
country  villager  her  husband  was  reputed  to  be  a fairly  rich 
man.  In  cases  where  the  concubine  has  a son,  in  the  event  of 
her  husband’s  death,  if  affairs  are  properly  managed,  she  has 
a portion  of  land  set  apart  for  her  like  any  other  wife. 


CHINESE  COUNTRY  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 


3°  i 


In  a third  case  a neighbour  of  the  writer,  a man  in  middle- 
life,  had  a wife  about  forty  years  of  age,  two  others  having 
died,  one  of  them  leaving  a daughter  now  twenty  years  of  age. 
The  father  was  absent  from  home  much  of  the  time,  engaged 
in  business  in  Peking.  With  Chinese  thus  situated,  it  often 
appears  to  be  a particularly  happy  solution  of  a difficulty  to 
have  two  wives,  the  legal  wife  at  home,  and  the  “small  one  ” 
at  the  place  where  the  husband  spends  most  of  his  time.  When 
the  man  returned  to  his  home,  he  brought  this  secondary  wife 
with  him,  an  act  very  well  adapted  to  promote  “vinegar  sip- 
ping.” This  additional  wife  was  a mere  child  much  younger 
than  the  daughter  of  her  husband. 

At  the  next  New  Year  it  was  reported  that  the  man  would 
not  allow  his  proper  wife  to  go  to  the  ancestral  graves,  but  in- 
sisted upon  taking  his  young  concubine  to  do  the  sacrificing. 
Other  injurious  reports,  true  or  false,  were  circulated  in  regard 
to  his  behaviour  toward  his  proper  wife,  and  his  intentions  in  the 
future  to  abandon  or  divorce  her,  and  these  soon  reached  the 
village  of  which  she  was  a native.  The  result  was  a deputa- 
tion of  a considerable  number  of  elderly  men  from  that  village 
to  the  one  in  which  the  husband  lived.  This  deputation  insti- 
tuted proceedings  by  summoning  the  head  of  the  husband’s 
clan  to  meet  them.  But  a large  number  of  young  men  from 
that  same  village,  having  heard  of  the  affair,  could  not  wait 
for  the  elders  to  adjust  the  matter  by  slow  Chinese  diplomacy, 
but  came  in  a body  to  the  house  of  the  husband,  and  without 
any  ceremony  made  an  attack  upon  it,  breaking  down  the 
barred  door  and  throwing  themselves  with  violence  upon  the 
defenceless  husband. 

The  attacking  party  had  armed  themselves  with  awls,  but 
not,  according  to  their  own  account,  with  knives.  It  was  late 
at  night  when  the  onslaught  was  made,  and  it  was  impossible 
to  distinguish  friend  from  foe.  The  husband  was  at  once  over- 
powered, and  was  subsequently  found  to  have  seventeen  awl- 
stabs  on  his  chest,  and  two  savage  knife-cuts  on  his  back,  pene- 


302 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


trating  to  the  lungs.  It  was  alleged  by  the  attacking  party 
that  the  latter  wounds  must  have  been  made  by  some  of  the 
man’s  immediate  neighbours  who  were  personal  enemies,  and 
who,  hearing  the  outcry,  rushed  in  only  to  find  that  their 
enemy  was  defenceless  and  open  to  their  attack  (which  could 
not  be  proved  against  them),  a circumstance  of  which  they 
took  care  to  avail  themselves.  The  attacking  party  having 
thus  placed  themselves  in  the  wrong,  were  obliged,  upon  being 
prosecuted  at  law,  to  get  an  influential  company  of  intermedi- 
aries to  help  them  out  of  the  difficulty.  This  was  at  last  ac- 
complished according  to  the  usual  Chinese  method — a great 
deal  of  head  knocking  and  a great  many  feasts  for  the  injured 
party. 

Notwithstanding  such  instructive  object-lessons  as  these, 
with  which  all  parts  of  China  must  to  a greater  or  less  extent 
abound,  many  of  those  who  think  that  they  can  afford  to  do  so 
continue  to  repeat  the  experiment,  although  the  adage  says : “If 
your  wife  is  against  it,  do  not  take  a concubine.”  If  this  ad- 
vice were  to  be  adopted,  it  is  not  improbable  that  the  practice 
of  concubinage  in  China  would  become  practically  extinct. 

A traveller  through  China  often  notices  in  the  villages  along 
his  route  that  in  the  early  morning  most  of  the  men  seem  to  be 
assembled  by  the  roadside,  each  one  squatting  in  front  of  his 
own  door,  all  busily  engaged  in  shovelling  in  their  food  with 
chopsticks  (appropriately  called  “ nimble-sons  ”),  chatting 
meantime  during  the  brief  intervals  with  the  neighbour  near- 
est. That  the  entire  family  should  sit  down  to  a table,  eating 
together  and  waiting  for  one  another,  after  the  manner  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Western  lands,  is  an  idea  so  foreign  to  the  ordi- 
nary Chinese  mind  as  to  be  almost  incomprehensible. 

This  Chinese  (and  Oriental)  habit  is  at  once  typical  and  sug- 
gestive. It  marks  a wholly  different  conception  of  the  family, 
and  of  the  position  of  woman  therein,  from  that  to  which  we 
are  accustomed.  It  indicates  the  view  that  while  man  is  yang, 
the  male,  ruling,  and  chief  element  in  the  universe,  woman  is 


CHINESE  COUNTRY  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 


3°3 


yin , "dull,  female,  inferior.”  The  conception  of  woman  as 
man’s  companion  is  in  China  almost  totally  lacking,  for  woman 
is  not  the  companion  of  man,  and  with  society  on  its  present 
terms  she  never  can  be.  A new  bride  introduced  into  a family 
has  visible  relations  with  no  one  less  than  with  her  " husband.” 
He  would  be  ashamed  to  be  seen  talking  with  her,  and  in 
general  they  seem  in  that  line  to  have  very  little  to  be  ashamed 
of.  In  those  unique  instances  in  which  the  young  couple  have 
the  good  sense  to  get  acquainted  with  each  other,  and  present 
the  appearance  of  actually  exchanging  ideas,  this  circum- 
stance is  the  joke  of  the  whole  family  circle,  and  an  insoluble 
enigma  to  all  its  members.  We  have  heard  of  cases  in  which 
members  of  a family  where  there  was  a newly  married 
couple,  kept  a string  in  which  was  tied  a knot,  every  time 
that  they  were  heard  to  speak  to  one  another.  This  cord 
would  be  subsequently  exhibited  to  them  in  ridicule  of  their 
intimacy ! 

A Chinese  bride  has  no  rational  prospect  of  happiness  in  her 
new  home,  though  she  may  be  well  dressed,  well  fed,  and  per- 
haps not  abused.  She  must  expect  chronic  repression  through 
the  long  years  during  which  she  is  for  a time  in  fact,  and  in 
theory  always,  a "child.”  Such  rigorous  discipline  maybe 
necessary  to  fit  her  for  the  duties  of  her  position,  when  she  shall 
have  become  herself  a mother-in-law,  and  at  the  head  of  a 
company  of  daughters-in-law,  but  it  is  a hard  necessity.  That 
there  are  sometimes  genuine  attachments  between  mothers-in- 
law  and  daughters-in-law  it  would  be  a mistake  to  deny,  for  in 
such  rare  cases  human  nature  shows  its  power  of  rising  superior 
to  the  conventional  trammels  in  which  it  finds  itself  by  iron 
customs  bound. 

To  defend  herself  against  the  fearful  odds  which  are  often 
pitted  against  her,  a Chinese  wife  has  but  two  resources.  One 
of  them  is  her  mother’s  family,  which,  as  we  have  seen,  has  no 
real  power,  and  is  too  often  to  be  compared  to  the  stem  light 
of  a ship,  of  no  service  for  protection  in  advance,  and  only 


3°4 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


throwing  a lurid  glare  on  the  course  which  has  been  passed 
over,  but  which  cannot  be  retraced. 

The  other  means  of  defence  which  a Chinese  wife  has  at  her 
command  is — herself.  If  she  is  gifted  with  a fluent  tongue, 
especially  if  it  is  backed  by  some  of  that  hard  common  sense 
which  so  many  Chinese  exhibit,  it  must  be  a very  peculiar 
household  in  which  she  does  not  hold  her  own.  Real  ability 
will  assert  itself,  and  such  light  as  a Chinese  woman  possesses 
will  assuredly  permeate  every  corner  of  the  domestic  bushel 
under  which  it  is  of  necessity  hidden.  If  a Chinese  wife  has 
a violent  temper,  if  she  is  able  at  a moment’s  notice  to  raise  a 
tornado  about  next  to  nothing,  and  to  keep  it  for  an  indefinite 
period  blowing  at  the  rate  of  a hundred  miles  an  hour,  the  po- 
sition of  such  a woman  is  almost  certainly  secure.  The  most 
termagant  of  mothers-in-law  hesitates  to  attack  a daughter-in- 
law  who  has  no  fear  of  men  or  of  demons,  and  who  is  fully 
equal  to  any  emergency.  A Chinese  woman  in  a fury  is  a 
spectacle  by  no  means  uncommon.  But  during  the  time  of  the 
most  violent  paroxysms  of  fury,  Vesuvius  itself  is  not  more  un- 
manageable by  man. 

If  a Chinese  husband  happens  to  be  a person  of  a quiet 
habit,  with  no  taste  for  tumults,  he  may  possibly  find  himself 
yoked  to  a Xantippe  who  never  for  an  instant  relaxes  the  reins 
of  her  dominion.  In  such  cases  the  prudent  man  will  be  glad 
to  purchase  “peace  at  any  price,”  and  whatever  the  theory 
may  be,  the  woman  rules.  Such  instances  are  by  no  means  in- 
frequent. This  is  witnessed  as  well  by  what  one  sees  and  hears 
in  Chinese  society  as  well  as  by  the  many  sayings  which  refer 
to  the  “man-who-fears-what-is-inside,”  that  is,  the  “hen- 
pecked man.”  Although  it  is  an  accepted  adage  that 

“ A genuine  cat  will  slay  a mouse, 

A genuine  man  will  rule  his  house,” 

yet  there  are  numerous  references  to  the  punishment  of  “ kneel  - 
ing-by-the-bedside-holding-a-lamp-on-the-head,”  which  is  the 


CHINESE  COUNTRY  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN  305 

penalty  exacted  by  the  regnant  wife  from  her  disobedient  hus- 
band. 

If  a Chinese  woman  has  the  heaven -bestowed  gift  of  being 
obstreperous  to  such  a degree  that,  as  the  sayings  go,  “people 
do  not  know  east  from  west”;  that  “men  are  worn  out  and 
horses  exhausted  ” ; that  “ the  mountains  tremble  and  the  earth 
shakes,”  this  is  unquestionably  her  surest  life-preserver.  It  is 
analagous  to  the  South  American  toucan,  which  is  .said  to 
frighten  away  enemies  by  the  mere  exhibition  of  itself,  they  not 
caring  to  wait  for  further  and  detailed  proofs  of  its  capacities  of 
execution.  But  if  such  an  endowment  has  been  denied  her, 
her  next  best  resource  is  to  pursue  a course  exactly  the  op- 
posite, in  all  circumstances  and  under  all  provocations  holding 
her  tongue.  To  most  Chinese  women,  this  seems  to  be  a feat 
as  difficult  as  aerial  navigation,  but  now  and  then  an  isolated 
case  shows  that  the  difficult  is  not  always  the  impossible. 

The  present  position  of  woman  in  China  is  a heritage  of  the 
remote  past,  as  is  illustrated  by  the  most  ancient  Chinese  litera- 
ture, an  example  of  which  heads  the  present  chapter.  The 
instructions  and  the  prohibitions  in  the  Book  of  Rites,  one  of 
the  oldest  and  most  venerated  classical  works,  embody  funda- 
mental principles  which  have  always  governed  the  Chinese  in 
their  treatment  of  women.  The  essence  of  the  Chinese  clas- 
sical teaching  on  this  subject  is,  that  woman  is  as  inferior  to  man 
as  the  earth  is  inferior  to  heaven ; and  that  she  can  never  at- 
tain to  full  equality  with  man. 

According  to  Chinese  philosophy  death  and  evil  have  their 
origin  in  the  Yin,  or  female  principle  of  Chinese  dualism,  while 
life  and  prosperity  come  from  the  subjection  of  it  to  the  Yang, 
or  male  principle ; hence  it  is  regarded  as  a law  of  nature  to 
keep  woman  completely  under  the  power  of  man,  and  to  allow 
her  no  will  of  her  own.  The  result  of  this  theory  and  the  cor- 
responding practice  is  that  the  ideal  for  women  is  not  develop- 
ment and  cultivation,  but  submission.  Women  can  have  no 
happiness  of  their  own,  but  must  live  and  work  for  men,  the 


3°6 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


only  practical  escape  from  this  degradation  being  found  in  be- 
coming the  mother  of  a son.  Woman  is  bound  by  the  same 
laws  of  existence  in  the  other  world.  She  belongs  to  the  same 
husband,  and  is  dependent  for  her  happiness  on  the  sacrifices 
offered  by  her  descendants.1 

It  is  occasionally  objected  that  to  attribute  the  evils  attending 
the  lot  of  woman  in  China  to  the  moral  system  which  has 
molded  and  preserved  that  empire,  is  as  inaccurate  as  it  would 
be  to  hold  Christianity  responsible  for  all  the  moral  evils  found 
in  Christian  lands.  Between  the  two  cases  there  is,  however, 
this  fundamental  difference.  Every  moral  evil  has  from  the 
beginning  been  antagonized  by  Christianity.  Those  evils  that 
still  flourish  do  so  in  spite  of  it,  and  against  its  unceasing 
efforts  and  incessant  protest.  Christianity  acting  upon  the 
relatively  lofty  conception  of  woman,  held  by  the  Teutonic 
races,  has  gradually  brought  about  that  elevation  of  the  sex 
which  we  now  witness  in  full  development.  The  theory  of 
Confucianism,  on  the  other  hand,  is  both  erroneous  and  defect- 
ive. It  is  therefore  no  exaggeration  to  charge  a large  part  of 
the  evils  from  which  Chinese  women  suffer  to  this  efficient 
cause.  It  is  moreover  highly  important  to  remember  that 
neither  for  evils  arising  from  wrong  moral  teaching  nor  for 
others,  has  Chinese  ethics  ever  furnished  either  preventive  or 
remedy. 

We  must,  therefore,  regard  the  position  of  women  in  China, 
as  the  ultimate  outcome  and  a most  characteristic  fruitage  of 
Confucianism.  In  our  view  it  has  been  a bitter  fruit,  and  in 
recapitulation  we  would  lay  emphasis  upon  seven  deadly  sins  in 
the  relation  of  that  system  to  woman. 

I.  Viewed  from  a purely  Chinese  point  of  view  there  is  no 
inherent  objection  to  the  education  of  Chinese  women.  In 
one  of  the  huge  Chinese  encyclopedias,  out  of  1,628  books, 

1 See  a small  pamphlet  on  “ The  Status  of  Woman  in  China,”  by  Dr. 
Ernst  Faber,  Shanghai,  1889,  containing  many  illustrative  classical  cita- 
tions. 


CHINESE  COUNTRY  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 


307 


37  6 are  devoted  to  famous  women,  and  of  these  four  chapters 
treat  of  female  knowledge,  and  seven  others  of  the  literary  pro- 
ductions of  women,  works  which  have  been  numerous  and  in- 
fluential. But  as  compared  with  the  inconceivable  numbers  of 
Chinese  women  in  the  past,  these  exceptional  cases  are  but  iso- 
lated twinkles  in  vast  interstellar  spaces  of  dense  darkness. 
Yet  in  view  of  the  coming  regeneration  of  China,  their  value 
as  historical  precedents  to  antiquity  loving  Chinese  is  beyond 
estimation.1 

Rare  and  unimportant  exceptions  aside,  Chinese  women  are 
provided  with  no  education.  Their  minds  are  left  in  a state  of 
nature,  until  millions  of  them  are  led  to  suppose  that  they  have 
no  minds  at  all,  an  opinion  which  their  fathers,  husbands  and 
brothers  often  do  much  to  confirm,  and  upon  which  they  then 
habitually  act. 

II.  The  sale  of  wives  and  daughters.  This  comes  about 
so  naturally,  and  it  might  almost  be  said  so  inevitably,  when 
certain  conditions  prevail,  that  it  is  taken  by  the  Chinese  as  a 
matter  of  course.  Except  in  years  of  famine  it  appears  in 
some  parts  of  the  empire  to  be  rare,  but  in  other  parts  it  is  the 
constant  and  the  normal  state  of  things  for  daughters  to  be 
as  really  sold  as  are  horses  and  cattle. 

There  are  sections  of  northern  China  in  which  it  is  not  un- 
common for  a man  who  has  contracted  debts  which  he  cannot 
otherwise  pay,  to  part  with  a daughter  as  a last  resort.  But 
there  are  other  districts  where  the  practice  cannot  be  excep- 
tional, as  is  evident  from  the  great  number  of  girls  who,  one  is 
told,  have  been  procured  from  this  region.  If  the  Chinese 
themselves  are  questioned  about  the  matter,  the  fact  is  always 
admitted,  the  custom  is  reprobated,  but  the  universally  conclu- 
sive inquiry  is  propounded:  “ What  help  is  there  for  it?" 

1 For  ample  illustration  of  this  subject  see  Dr.  Ernst  Faber’s  « The 
Famous  Women  of  China,”  Shanghai,  1890,  and  “ Typical  Women  of 
China,”  by  the  late  Miss  A.  C.  Safford,  an  abridged  translation  of  a 
famous  and  authoritative  Chinese  work. 


3°8 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


In  the  present  condition  of  the  empire  this  interrogatory  is  un- 
answerable. 

III.  Too  early  and  too  universal  marriages.  A consider- 
able part  of  the  unhappiness  caused  by  Chinese  marriages  may 
fairly  be  charged  to  the  immaturity  of  the  victims.  To  treat 
children  as  if  they  were  adults,  while  at  the  same  time  treating 
them  as  children  who  require  the  same  watch  and  ward  as 
other  children,  does  not  appear  to  be  a rational  procedure,  nor 
can  it  be  claimed  that  it  is  justified  by  its  results.  That  a new 
pair  constitute  a distinct  entity  to  be  dealt  with  independently, 
is  a proposition  which  Confucianism  treats  with  scorn,  if  indeed 
it  ever  entertains  such  a conception  at  all.  The  compulsory 
marriage  of  all  girls  forces  all  Chinese  society  into  cast-iron 
grooves,  and  leaves  no  room  for  exceptional  individual  devel- 
opment. It  throws  suspicion  around  every  isolated  struggle 
against  this  galling  bondage,  and  makes  the  unmarried  woman 
seem  a personified  violation  of  the  decrees  of  heaven  and  of 
the  laws  of  man. 

IV.  Infanticide  of  female  infants.  This  is  a direct,  if  not 
a legitimate  result  of  the  tenet  that  male  children  are  absolutely 
indispensable,  applied  in  a social  system  where  dire  poverty  is 
the  rule,  and  where  an  additional  mouth  frequently  means  im- 
pending starvation.  In  a chapter  in  her  “Pagoda  Shadows,” 
on  “The  Extent  of  a Great  Crime,”  Miss  Fielde  combines  a 
great  variety  of  testimony  taken  from  several  different  prov- 
inces, in  the  following  paragraph.  “I  find  that  160  Chinese 
women,  all  over  fifty  years  of  age,  had  borne  631  sons,  and 
538  daughters.  Of  the  sons,  366,  or  nearly  sixty  per  cent., 
had  lived  more  than  ten  years ; while  of  the  daughters  only 
205,  or  thirty-eight  per  cent.,  had  lived  ten  years.  The  160 
women,  according  to  their  own  statements,  had  destroyed  158 
of  their  daughters ; but  none  had  ever  destroyed  a boy.  As 
only  four  women  had  reared  more  than  three  girls,  the  proba- 
bility is  that  the  number  of  infanticides  confessed  to  is  consid- 
erably below  the  truth.  I have  occasionally  been  told  by  a 


CHINESE  COUNTRY  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 


3°9 


woman  that  she  had  forgotten  just  how  many  girls  she  had  had, 
more  than  she  wanted.  The  greatest  number  of  infanticides 
owned  to  by  any  one  woman  is  eleven.” 

Infanticide  will  never  cease  in  China,  until  the  notion  that 
the  dead  are  dependent  for  their  happiness  upon  sacrifices  of- 
fered to  them  by  the  living  shall  have  been  totally  overthrown. 

V.  Secondary  wives.  Concubinage  is  the  natural  result  of 
the  Confucian  theory  of  ancestral  worship.  The  misery  which 
it  has  caused  and  still  causes  in  China  is  beyond  comprehen- 
sion. Nothing  can  uproot  it  but  a decay  of  faith  in  the  as- 
sumption underlying  all  forms  of  worship  of  the  dead. 

VI.  Suicides  of  wives  and  daughters.  The  preceding 
causes,  operating  singly  and  in  combination,  are  wholly  suffi- 
cient to  account  for  the  number  of  suicides  among  Chinese 
women.  The  wonder  rather  is  that  there  are  not  more.  But 
whoever  undertakes  to  collect  facts  on  this  subject  for  any  given 
district  will  not  improbably  be  greatly  surprised  at  the  extraor- 
dinary prevalence  of  this  practice.  It  is  even  adopted  by  chil- 
dren, and  for  causes  relatively  trifling.  At  times  it  appears  to 
spread,  like  the  smallpox,  and  the  thirst  for  suicide  becomes 
virtually  an  epidemic.  As  already  mentioned,  according  to 
the  native  newspapers,  there  are  parts  of  China  in  which  young 
girls  band  themselves  into  a secret  league  to  commit  suicide 
within  a certain  time  after  they  have  been  betrothed  or  mar- 
ried. The  wretchedness  of  the  lives  to  which  they  are  con- 
demned is  thoroughly  appreciated  in  advance,  and  fate  is  thus 
effectually  checkmated.  It  would  be  wrong  to  overstate  the 
evils  suffered  by  woman  in  China,  evils  which  have  indeed 
many  alleviations,  and  which  are  not  to  be  compared  to  those 
of  her  sisters  in  India  or  in  Turkey.  But  after  all  abatements 
have  been  made,  it  remains  true  that  the  death-roll  of  suicides 
is  the  most  convincing  proof  of  the  woes  endured  by  Chinese 
women. 

VII.  Overpopulation.  The  whole  Chinese  race  is  and  al- 
ways has  been  given  up  with  a single  devotion  to  the  task  of 


3i° 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


raising  up  a posterity,  to  do  for  the  fathers  what  the  fathers 
have  done  for  the  grandfathers.  In  this  particular  line,  they 
have  realized  Wesley’s  conception  of  the  ideal  church  in  its 
line,  where,  as  he  remarked,  the  members  are  “All  at  it,  and 
always  at  it.”  War,  famine,  pestilence  sweep  off  millions  of 
the  population,  but  a few  decades  of  peace  seem  to  repair  the 
ravages  of  the  past,  which  are  lost  to  sight,  like  battlefields 
covered  with  wide  areas  of  waving  grain. 

However  much  we  may  admire  the  recuperative  power  of  the 
Chinese  people  as  a whole  and  individually,  it  is  difficult  not  to 
feel  righteous  indignation  toward  a system  which  violates  those 
beneficent  laws  of  nature  which  would  mercifully  put  an  end 
to  many  branches  of  families  when  such  branches  are  unfitted 
to  survive.  It  is  impossible  to  contemplate  with  equanimity 
the  deliberate,  persistent,  and  uniform  propagation  of  poverty, 
vice,  disease  and  crime,  which  ought  rather  to  be  surrounded 
with  every  restriction  to  prevent  its  multiplication,  and  to  see 
this  propagation  of  evil  and  misery  done,  too,  with  an  air  of 
virtue,  as  if  this  were  of  itself  a kind  of  religion,  often  indeed 
the  only  form  of  religion  in  which  the  Chinese  take  any  vital 
interest. 

It  is  this  system  which  loads  down  the  rising  generation  with 
the  responsibility  for  feeding  and  clothing  tens  of  thousands  of 
human  beings  who  ought  never  to  have  been  born,  and  whose 
existence  can  never  be  other  than  a burden  to  themselves,  a 
period  of  incessant  struggle  without  respite  and  without  hope. 

To  the  intelligent  foreigner,  the  most  prominent  fact  in 
China  is  the  poverty  of  its  people.  There  are  too  many  vil- 
lages to  the  square  mile,  too  many  families  to  the  village,  too 
many  “mouths”  to  the  family.  Wherever  one  goes,  it  is  the 
same  weary  tale  with  interminable  reiteration.  Poverty,  pov- 
erty, poverty,  always  and  evermore  poverty.  The  empire  is 
broad,  its  unoccupied  regions  are  extensive,  and  its  undevel- 
oped resources  undoubtedly  vast.  But  in  what  way  can  these 
resources  be  so  developed  as  to  benefit  the  great  mass  of  the 


One  ok  China's  Parasites— a Beggar.  One  of  her  Sources  of  Strength— a Carpenter. 


CHINESE  COUNTRY  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 


3ii 


Chinese  people  ? By  none,  with  which  we  are  acquainted,  or 
of  which  we  can  conceive,  without  a radical  disturbance  of  the 
existing  conditions.  The  seething  mass  of  over-population 
must  be  drawn  off  to  the  regions  where  it  is  needed,  and  then 
only  will  there  be  room  for  the  relief  of  those  who  remain. 

It  is  impossible  to  do  anything  for  people  who  are  wedged 
together  after  the  manner  of  matches  in  a box.  Imagine  a 
surgeon  making  the  attempt  to  set  the  broken  leg  of  a man  in 
an  omnibus  in  motion,  which  at  the  time  contained  twenty 
other  people,  most  of  whom  also  had  broken  legs  which  like- 
wise require  setting  ! The  first  thing  to  do  would  be  to  get 
them  all  unloaded,  and  to  put  them  where  they  could  be  prop- 
erly treated,  with  room  for  the  treatment,  and  space  for  breath- 
ing. It  is,  we  repeat,  not  easy  to  perceive  how  even  the  most 
advanced  political  economy  can  do  anything  of  permanent 
benefit  for  the  great  mass  of  the  Chinese  without  a redistribu- 
tion of  the  surplus  population.  But  at  this  point  practical 
Confucianism  intervenes,  and  having  induced  the  begetting  of 
this  swarm  of  human  beings,  it  declares  that  they  must  not 
abandon  the  graves  of  their  ancestors,  who  require  their  sacri- 
fices, but  must  in  the  same  spot  continue  to  propagate  their 
posterity  to  continue  the  interminable  process. 

The  world  is  still  large,  and  it  has,  and  for  ages  will  doubt- 
less continue  to  have,  ample  room  for  all  the  additional  millions 
which  its  existing  millions  can  produce.  The  world  was  never 
so  much  in  need  of  the  Chinese  as  to-day,  and  never,  on  the 
other  hand,  were  the  Chinese  more  in  need  of  the  world.  But 
if  China  is  to  hold  its  own,  much  more  if  it  is  to  advance  as 
other  nations  have  advanced  and  do  advance,  it  must  be  done 
under  the  lead  of  new  forces.  Confucianism  has  been  a mighty 
power  to  build  up,  and  to  conserve.  But  Confucianism  with 
its  great  merits  has  committed  many  “Deadly  Sins,”  and  of 
those  sins  it  must  ultimately  suffer  the  penalty.  Confucianism 
as  a developing  force  is  a force,  which  is  spent.  Sooner  or  later 
it  must  give  way  to  something  stronger,  wiser,  and  better. 


XXIV 


THE  MONOTONY  AND  VACUITY  OF  VILLAGE  LIFE 

TT  is  difficult  to  project  ourselves  backward  to  the  times  of  our 
great-grandfathers  when  mails  were  carried  on  horseback, 
the  postman  leisurely  knitting  stockings  as  he  rode.  Yet  how- 
ever slow,  measured  by  modern  standards,  the  rural  life  of  a 
century  and  more  ago,  it  was  a varied  life,  ultimately  anastomos- 
ing with  the  great  currents  of  the  age.  The  rate  of  progress 
of  thought  has  no  necessary  correlation  to  the  versatility  or  the 
virility  of  mental  processes.  Our  ancestors  may  perhaps  have 
been  peasants,  but  they  were  an  integral  part  of  the  land  in 
which  they  dwelt,  and  they  rose  and  fell  with  the  national  tides 
of  life  like  boats  in  a harbor. 

A Chinese  village  is  physically  and  intellectually  a fixture. 
Could  one  gaze  backward  through  a vista  of  five  hundred  years 
at  the  panorama  which  that  vast  stretch  of  modern  history 
would  present,  he  would  probably  see  little  more  and  little  less 
than  he  sees  to-day.  The  buildings  now  standing  are  not  in- 
deed five  hundred  years  old,  but  they  are  just  such  houses  as 
half  a millennium  ago  occupied  the  same  sites,  “ similar  and 
similarly  situated.”  Some  families  that  then  lived  in  adobe 
dwellings  now  flourish  under  roofs  of  tile  in  houses  of  brick. 
Other  families  have  become  extinct.  Now  and  then  a new  one 
may  have  appeared,  but  this  is  irregular  and  exceptional. 
Those  who  now  subsist  in  this  collection  of  earth-built  abodes 
are  the  lineal  descendants  of  those  who  lived  there  when  Co- 
lumbus discovered  America.  The  descendants  are  doing  just 
what  their  ancestors  did,  no  more,  no  less,  no  other.  They 
cultivate  the  same  fields  in  the  same  way  (albeit  a few  of  the 
crops  are  modern);  they  go  to  the  same  markets  in  the  same 
invariable  order ; buy,  sell,  and  wear  the  same  articles ; marry 
and  are  given  in  marriage  according  to  the  same  pattern. 

312 


THE  MONOTONY  AND  VACUITY  OF  VILLAGE  LIFE  313 


It  was  a shrewd  suggestion  of  a philosopher  that  if  we  wish 
to  understand  a people,  we  should  note  what  things  they  take 
for  granted.  The  pre-suppositions  of  a Chinese  villager  are  the 
same  as  those  of  his  ancestry  near  and  remote.  There  is  in  a 
Chinese  village  as  such  no  intellectual  life.  If  there  happen  to 
be  literary  men  living  in  it,  they  form  a little  clique  by  them- 
selves, largely  out  of  relation  to  their  neighbours,  and  likewise 
to  most  of  their  own  families.  It  is  an  ancient  aphorism  that 
“ Scholars  talk  of  books — butchers  of  pigs.”  We  have  already 
abundantly  seen  that  the  processes  of  Chinese  education  are 
narrowing  processes,  fitting  the  accomplished  student  to  run 
only  in  grooves.  It  is  almost  incredible  how  narrow  these  ruts 
become.  Each  literary  examination  is  a crisis  at  which  one 
either  becomes  a graduate  or  does  not ; in  either  case  the  re- 
sult, whether  appertaining  to  the  student  himself,  the  pupils 
whom  he  has  coached,  or  his  own  sons,  is  contemplated  purely 
as  a personal  and  an  individual  matter.  It  is  a literary  lottery 
upon  which  much  has  been  risked,  and  out  of  which  it  is  de- 
sirable to  recover  if  possible  a prize.  If  that  is  out  of  the 
question  all  interest  in  the  literary  business  is  at  an  end. 

Unlike  his  representative  in  Western  lands,  the  Chinese  vil- 
lage scholar  is  not  a centre  or  source  of  illumination  to  others. 
His  life  is  the  ideal  of  “subjectivity” — the  quintessential  es- 
sence of  selfishness.  It  is  a venerable  superstition  of  the  Chi- 
nese that  though  the  graduate  does  not  emerge  from  his  own 
door,  he  knows  the  affairs  of  all  under  heaven.  As  we  have 
already  had  occasion  to  point  out,  among  the  many  rhetorical 
exaggerations  of  Chinese  proverbial  philosophy  this  aphorism 
may  be  held  to  take  the  lead.  The  typical  scholar  knows  noth- 
ing whatever  about  all-under-heaven.  He  has  no  decided 
opinions  one  way  or  the  other  as  to  whether  the  earth  is  round 
or  flat,  for  it  is  no  concern  of  his.  Neither  is  the  current  his- 
tory of  his  own  country.  National  affairs  belong  to  the  man- 
darins who  get  their  living  by  them  ; what  have  such  matters  to 
do  with  a literary  man  who  has  taken  his  degree  ? 


314 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


The  writer  is  acquainted  with  an  ex-schoolmaster  who  went 
into  a business  which  often  led  him  to  a distance  from  home. 
About  a year  after  peace  had  been  concluded  with  Japan,  this 
much-travelled  merchant  inquired  during  the  progress  of  a call 
if  we  could  inform  him  how  the  war  turned  out,  explaining 
that  he  had  heard  such  contradictory  accounts  at  the  capital  of 
his  province  and  at  Tientsin  that  he  knew  not  what  to  believe, 
and  had  judiciously  held  his  mind  entirely  in  suspense  until  he 
had  an  opportunity  to  see  his  foreign  friend,  who  might,  he 
thought,  know  for  certain  ! 

Linked  with  this  dense  ignorance  and  more  impenetrable  in- 
difference is  a most  unbounded  credulity.  Faith  in  the  feng- 
shui,  or  geomancy  of  a district  is  still  as  firmly  rooted  as  ever 
in  the  minds  of  the  leading  literary  men  of  the  empire,  as  is 
shown  by  memorials  in  the  Peking  Gazette  calling  for  changes 
in  buildings,  the  erection  of  lucky  towers,  etc.,  because  the 
number  of  successful  competitors  is  not  greater. 

A scholar  who  thinks  it  necessary  to  beat  drums  in  order  to 
save  the  sun  in  an  eclipse  from  the  “ Dog  ” which  is  devouring 
it,  receives  with  implicit  faith  the  announcement  that  in  West- 
ern lands  the  years  are  a thousand  days  in  length,  with  four 
moons  all  the  time.  If  some  one  who  has  dabbled  a little  in 
chemistry  reports  to  him  a rudimentary  experiment  in  which 
carbonic  dioxide  poured  down  a trough  extinguishes  a row  of 
burning  candles,  he  is  at  once  reminded  that  The  Master  re- 
fused to  speak  of  feats  of  magic,  and  he  dismisses  the  whole 
topic  with  the  verdict : “Of  course  it  was  done  by  malign 
spirits.” 

In  this  fertile  soil  every  kind  of  mischievous  tale  takes  root 
downward,  and  in  due  time  bears  its  bitter  fruit,  as  many  for- 
eigners in  China  know  to  their  cost.  Were  it  not  for  the  cre- 
dulity of  the  literary  men  in  China,  riots  against  foreigners  would 
seldom  or  never  occur.  It  is  a melancholy  fact  that  vast  num- 
bers of  this  class,  especially  in  the  rural  districts,  are  pro- 
foundly convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  worst  allegations  made 


THE  MONOTONY  AND  VACUITY  OF  VILLAGE  LIFE  3r5 


against  the  men  of  the  West,  while  still  greater  numbers  are 
absolutely  indifferent  to  the  matter  unless  it  happens  in  some 
way  to  affect  themselves. 

The  learned  and  semi-intelligent  vacuity  of  the  village 
scholar  is  more  than  matched  by  the  ignorant  vacuity  of  his 
illiterate  neighbours.  If  he  happens  to  have  travelled, 
the  latter  has  indubitably  the  better  education  of  the  two,  for 
the  reason  that  it  is  based  (as  far  as  it  goes)  upon  facts.  But  if 
he  is  a typical  villager  he  has  never  been  anywhere  to  speak  of, 
and  knows  nothing  in  particular.  His  conversation  is  filled 
with  unutterable  inanities  till  he  is  gathered  to  his  fathers.  In 
every  Chinese  village  one  sees,  except  at  the  busiest  times, 
groups  of  men  sitting  in  the  sunshine  in  winter,  in  the  shade  in 
summer,  on  some  friendly  stick  of  timber,  and  clustered  in  the 
little  temples  which  constitute  the  village  exchange.  Even  in 
the  depth  of  winter  they  continue  to  huddle  together  in  a vain 
effort  to  be  comfortable  as  well  as  sociable,  and  chatter,  chatter 
all  the  day,  or  until  it  is  time  to  go  to  their  meals.  The  past, 
present,  and  future  state  of  the  weather,  the  market  prices, 
local  gossip,  and  especially  the  details  of  the  latest  lawsuit  form 
the  warp  and  woof  of  this  unending  talk.  What  the  Magis- 
trate asked  of  Chang  when  he  was  examined,  what  Chang  re- 
plied, what  Wang  retaliated,  as  well  as  what  the  Official  had  to 
say  to  that , with  interminable  iterations  and  profuse  commen- 
tary furnish  the  most  interesting  and  the  most  inexhaustible 
themes  for  discourse. 

For  any  official  changes  unless  it  be  that  of  his  own  District 
Magistrate  the  villager  cares  very  little.  At  a time  when  it  was 
supposed  that  His  Majesty  Kuang  Hsii  had  been  made  way 
with,  the  writer  remarked  to  a Chinese  friend  that  there  was 
reason  to  fear  that  here  was  an  empire  without  an  Emperor.  A 
villager  of  the  sluggish  type  just  mentioned,  who  had  heard 
nothing  of  the  news  from  Peking,  inquired  of  what  country  the 
observation  had  been  made,  and  when  the  answer  had  been 
given  that  it  was  the  Central  Empire,  he  reflected  for  a moment, 


3i6 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


and  merely  replied,  “Oh”,  with  the  air  of  one  who  had 
feared  it  might  be  worse ! Yet  the  rustic  of  this  class  is 
shrewd  in  his  own  affairs,  and  by  no  means  deficient  in  prac- 
tical intelligence.  He  is  passionately  fond  of  hearing  story- 
tellers and  of  witnessing  plays  having  for  their  heroes  the  great 
men  of  the  Three  Kingdoms  seventeen  hundred  years  ago,  and 
on  occasion  he  might  be  able  to  tell  us  much  about  these 
characters  and  their  deeds.  But  modern  and  contemporaneous 
history  is  out  of  his  line,  and  lacks  flavour.  It  is  most  literally 
none  of  his  business,  and  he  knows  nor  cares  nothing  about  it. 
The  whole  map  of  Asia  might  be  reconstructed,  and  it  would 
have  for  him  no  interest  whatever,  provided  it  did  not  increase 
his  taxes  nor  raise  the  price  of  grain. 

We  have  already  mentioned  that  the  villager  who  has  been 
far  from  home  is  a conspicuous  exception  to  the  general  vacuity 
of  mind  so  often  to  be  met.  He  has  a rich  and  a varied  ex- 
perience which  he  is  willing  although  not  forward  to  relate. 
But  it  is  a striking  fact  that  the  man  of  this  sort  when  he  re- 
turns to  go  abroad  no  more,  tends  speedily  to  relapse  into  the 
prevailing  type.  He  may  have  been  in  every  one  of  the  Eight- 
een Provinces,  or  possibly  in  foreign  lands,  yet  on  his  settling 
down  to  his  old  ways  he  has  no  more  curiosity  to  know  what 
is  going  on  elsewhere,  than  a man  who  had  at  some  time  in  his 
life  been  shipwrecked  would  have  to  know  what  had  become 
of  the  shoals  of  fish  with  which  for  a time  he  was  in  fortuitous 
proximity.  When  it  is  considered  how  vast  a proportion  of  the 
whole  population  live  in  villages,  and  when  we  contemplate  in 
detail  the  meagreness  and  poverty  of  the  mental  output,  an  im- 
pressive conception  is  gained  of  the  intellectual  barrenness  of 
the  Flowery  Empire.  The  phenomena  which  we  everywhere 
see  are  the  outward  expression  of  inner  forces  which  have  been 
at  work  for  more  than  two  thousand  years.  The  longer  they 
are  considered  and  the  more  thoroughly  they  are  understood 
the  more  profoundly  will  it  be  seen  and  felt  that  the  “ answer 
to  Confucianism  is  China.” 


XXVI 


UNSTABLE  EQUILIBRIUM  OF  THE  CHINESE  FAMILY 

HE  family  is  the  unit  of  Chinese  social  life  and,  as  we  have 


often  had  occasion  to  observe,  the  Chinese  Family  is  a 
highly  complex  organization,  with  many  aspects  which  some- 
times appear  mutually  contradictory.  To  the  consideration  of 
one  of  these  polyhedral  faces  we  now  turn,  asking  the  reader  to 
bear  well  in  mind  that  while  what  we  have  to  say  contains  im- 
portant truth,  this  is  but  one  out  of  many  points  of  view. 

The  instability  of  the  equilibrium  of  the  Chinese  family 
arises  from  its  constitution,  from  its  environment,  and  from 
the  relation  between  the  two.  Let  us  first  glance  at  some  of 
the  exterior  causes.  In  a large  portion  of  the  empire  the  rain- 
fall is  more  or  less  uncertain,  rendering  famine  a perpetual  pos- 
sibility. Within  the  past  quarter  of  a century  foreigners  in 
China  have  had  superabundant  opportunities  to  study  the  phe- 
nomena of  famine  upon  a great  scale.  The  misery  thus  occa- 
sioned is  inconceivable,  but  we  wish  to  refer  only  to  the  result- 
ant disruption  of  families.  Nothing  is  more  common  than  to 
find  that  the  father  has  gone  to  some  distant  region  hoping  to 
secure  a bare  sustenance  leaving  the  wife  and  children  to  shift 
for  themselves.  This  is  not  because  he  does  not  care  for  them, 
nor  because  he  desires  the  separation,  but  because  there  is 
literally  “no  help  for  it.” 

Large  portions  of  the  empire  are  liable  to  inundation,  often 
with  little  or  no  warning.  Those  who  contrive  to  save  them- 
selves wander  off  whither  they  can,  generally  in  family  groups, 
but  not  infrequently  one  by  one.1  Children  are  born  and 

•An  extreme  case  of  chronic  misery  from  this  cause  is  found  in  the 
Hsien  District  of  Chih-li,  where  there  is  a section  wedged  in  between  the 

3*7 


318 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


children  die  on  these  haphazard  journeys  nowhither.  The 
elders  die  too,  and  sometimes  a marriageable  girl  is  disposed  of 
for  life  to  some  husband  who  could  not  afford  the  expense  of  an 
ordinary  wedding.  It  is  proverbial  that  there  are  no  cere- 
monies for  a second  marriage,  and  whenever  a family  is  broken 
up,  it  is  highly  probable  that  all  the  widows  will  soon  find 
partners,  the  union  liable  to  be  discontinued  whenever  there  is 
again  a scarcity  of  food. 

Political  disturbances  which  often  rise  to  the  dignity  of  small 
rebellions  operate  in  the  same  way  as  famines  and  floods.  In 
any  of  these  cases  families  once  widely  dispersed  are  not  likely 
again  to  recombine. 

It  is  not  in  times  of  special  stress  only  that  families  are 
parted.  In  several  of  the  provinces  of  China  a considerable 
proportion  of  the  adult  males  earn  their  living  at  great  distances 
from  home. 

Myriads  of  Chinese  from  the  northern  portion  of  China  get 
such  a livelihood  as  they  can  in  Manchuria  or  elsewhere  be- 
yond the  Great  Wall,  hundreds  or  thousands  of  miles  from 
home,  to  which  multitudes  never  return.  Innumerable  Chinese 
mothers  never  learn  what  has  become  of  their  sons,  who  went 
away  in  early  youth  to  be  heard  of  no  more.  Communication 
is  irregular  and  uncertain,  and  uniformly  untrustworthy.  No 
wonder  the  current  adage  declares  that  when  the  son  has  gone 
a thousand  miles  the  mother  grieves.1  The  Chinese  Enoch 

high  artificial  banks  of  two  rivers.  Every  year  many  villages  are  deluged 
as  a matter  of  course,  and  the  houses  have  been  repeatedly  destroyed. 
No  autumn  crop  can  ever  be  raised  here,  but  wheat  is  put  in  after  the 
waters  have  subsided.  In  the  winter  one  sees  many  of  the  houses  with 
doors  and  windows  plastered  up,  almost  all  the  inhabitants  having  gone 
off  in  droves  to  beg  a living  where  they  can,  returning  the  next  spring  to 
look  after  their  wheat.  This  has  become  a regular  practice  even  with 
families  who  own  fifty  or  sixty  acres  of  land,  and  who  elsewhere  would  be 
called  well  off. 

1 A case  of  this  sort  came  to  the  writer’s  notice  in  which  a man  from 
Ho-nan  had  gathered  a stock  of  goods  amounting  to  more  than  the  value 


UNSTABLE  EQUILIBRIUM  OF  THE  CHINESE  FAMILY  319 


Arden  perhaps  returns  from  an  absence  of  possibly  ten  or  it 
may  be  twenty  years,  enters  his  house,  throws  down  his  bundle 
and  without  a question  or  a greeting  to  any  one,  proceeds  to 
take  a solacing  smoke.  He  may  have  been  away  so  long  that 
no  one  recognizes  him,  and  perhaps  he  is  taken  for  a tramp  and 
warned  off.  But  he  merely  replies  “Why  should  I not  make 
myself  at  home  in  my  own  house?  ” and  resumes  his  smoking, 
leaving  details  to  be  filled  in  later. 

The  equilibrium  of  every  Chinese  family  is  liable  to  be  dis- 
turbed by  an  evil  which  may  not  unlikely  work  more  mischief 
than  an  ordinary  earthquake — to  wit,  a lawsuit.  There  is  not 
a day  in  the  life  of  any  Chinese  when  his  peace,  his  prosperity, 
and  possibly  his  life  may  not  be  endangered  by  some  complica- 
tion for  which  he  is  not  in  any  way  responsible,  but  from  which 
escape  is  practically  impossible.  Let  not  the  reader  suppose 
that  most  Chinese  are  entangled  in  the  meshes  of  the  law,  for 
this  is  not  the  case.  But  there  is  always  the  unavoidable  lia- 
bility. A moment  of  uncontrollable  passion  on  the  part  of  any 
one  of  a score  of  persons,  may  precipitate  a crisis  involving  the 
expenditure  of  the  greater  part  of  one’s  resources,  subjection  to 
protracted  detention  in  jail,  to  torture,  to  punishment  of  im- 
measurable barbarity,  and  to  virtual  starvation  in  prison  unless 
the  means  of  the  family  are  drained  to  prevent  it.  Not  every 
lawsuit  has  within  it  such  phenomena  as  these,  but  they  are 
everywhere  potential,  for  no  one  can  predict  where  or  how  any 
suit  will  end.  It  is  not  alone  the  principals  who  suffer  in  cases 
of  this  sort,  for,  as  the  current  saying  runs,  “When  one  family 
has  trouble  none  of  the  four  neighbours  are  in  peace.’’ 

of  fifty  Mexican  dollars,  and  departed  for  Manchuria,  nearly  1,500  miles 
distant,  in  order  to  learn  what  had  become  of  his  sister’s  son  who  had  left 
home  in  anger.  The  goods  were  disposed  of  to  pay  travelling  expenses, 
but  the  journey  of  a few  months  as  planned,  was  lengthened  to  more  than 
a year.  The  poor  man  fell  sick,  his  goods  were  spent,  and  he  was  many 
months  slowly  begging  his  way  back,  and  after  all  had  learned  nothing  of 
his  nephew. 


320 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


Attention  has  been  repeatedly  called  to  the  familiar  fact  that 
practically  no  Chinese  can  maintain  financial  independence. 
To  a foreigner  nothing  is  more  amazing  than  the  reckless 
manner  in  which  a debt  is  contracted  which  subsequently 
proves  to  have  within  it  the  fruitful  seeds  of  ruin  for  the  whole 
family.  It  is  vain  to  ask  why  the  money  was  borrowed.  One 
might  as  well  inquire  why  one  is  so  wet  who  has  been  out  all 
night  in  a Scotch  mist.  Ages  of  experience  have  made  the 
Chinese  relentless  creditors,  and  woe  to  him  who  owes  but  can- 
not pay.  China  is  full  of  small  dealers  with  a limited  capital, 
who  do  well  enough  in  ordinary  years.  A very  small  percent- 
age contrives  to  get  so  far  ahead  as  to  buy  land,  and  thus  the 
family  is  rooted  to  the  soil.  But  a far  larger  number  lose  the 
capital  invested,  are  obliged  to  sell  their  little  holdings  to  pay 
their  dues,  and  thenceforth  they  join  the  great,  hopeless,  land- 
less class.  A single  failure  of  one  important  crop  may  carry 
with  it  consequences  of  this  kind  to  many  small  dealers.  In 
China  the  man  or  the  family  which  is  loaded  with  a debt  be- 
yond the  recuperative  power  of  the  debtor,  finds  itself  upon  an 
oiled  toboggan-slide  at  the  bottom  of  which  is  remediless  ruin. 

In  the  families  of  the  poor  there  is  no  margin  of  any  kind  for 
sickness,  but  sickness  comes  impartially  to  every  grade  of  life. 
When  the  bread-winner  is  laid  aside,  when  the  mother  of  a little 
flock  is  no  longer  able  to  keep  the  simple  domestic  machinery 
in  motion,  then  indeed  trouble  has  arrived.  If  a young  mar- 
ried woman  is  sick,  the  first  step  is  to  send  for  her  mother;  for 
ordinarily  no  one  in  the  family  into  which  she  has  married  has 
the  time  or  disposition  to  take  care  of  her,  least  of  all  the  hus- 
band, who  regards  himself  as  aggrieved  by  her  disability,  and 
who  is  often  far  more  inclined  to  expect  the  family  of  his  wife 
to  bear  all  the  resultant  expenses,  than  to  meet  them  himself. 
One  of  the  legal  occasions  for  divorce  is  chronic  illness,  al- 
though we  have  never  heard  of  a single  instance  where  formal 
steps  were  taken  for  that  reason.  It  is  a current  saying  that 
in  the  presence  of  a long  continued  sickness  there  is  no  filial 


UNSTABLE  EQUILIBRIUM  OF  THE  CHINESE  FAMILY  321 


son.  How  great  the  family  strain  often  is,  there  are  many 
things  to  prove.  In  the  midst  of  it  all  one  is  sometimes  agree- 
ably surprised  to  find  an  amount  of  tenderness  and  forbearance 
worthy  of  all  praise.  But  in  the  constitution  of  Chinese  society 
these  exhibitions  are  and  must  be  in  a great  minority.  A man 
well  known  to  the  writer  in  speaking  of  the  serious  symptoms 
of  a disease  of  his  wife,  remarked  that  he  had  asked  her  how 
long  she  expected  to  keep  up  the  groans  called  forth  by  the  in- 
tolerable agonies  of  terrible  and  incurable  ulcers,  and  that  for 
his  part  he  had  offered  to  provide  her  with  a rope  that  she 
might  relieve  him  of  his  inconvenience,  and  herself  of  her 
miseries,  though  upon  being  remonstrated  with  for  such  an  in- 
human view  of  the  case,  he  frankly  admitted  that  his  troubles 
had  made  him  “stupid.”  It  is  a significant  saying  in  such  in- 
stances that  the  sufferer  although  poor  has  contracted  a rich 
man’s  malady. 

The  disintegrating  forces  which  operate  in  the  Chinese  family 
are  more  efficient  in  the  homes  of  the  poor  than  of  the  rich,  be- 
cause there  is  less  power  of  resistance.  But  there  are  two  of 
these  agencies  which  imply  a certain  degree  of  prosperity  ere 
they  can  be  fully  developed,  the  gambling  and  the  opium  habit, 
twin  vices  of  the  Chinese  race.  Each  leads  by  swift  and  re- 
lentless steps  to  destruction,  and  in  each  case  there  ensues  at 
last  what  is  virtually  a paralysis  of  the  will,  making  amendment 
impossible.  Against  these  gigantic  evils  there  is  in  Chinese  so- 
ciety no  safeguard  whatever,  no  preventive  influences,  and  no 
remedies.  It  would  be  easy  to  illustrate  in  terrible  detail  how 
these  forces  act  insidiously,  universally  and  irresistibly.  The 
wonder  is  that  the  track  of  devastation  is  not  even  wider.  They 
take  rank  among  the  most  destructive  instrumentalities  in 
Chinese  social  life.  It  is  very  rare  indeed  to  hear  of  reform  from 
either  of  these  vices,  when  there  has  been  no  impulse  imparted 
from  without,  and  it  is  rarer  that  there  is  any  one  who  can  and 
who  will  impart  it. 

To  this  dark  catalogue  of  maleficent  forces  must  be  added 


322 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


one  more,  violation  of  social  morality.  To  what  extent  this 
prevails  in  any  given  place  it  is  impossible  for  any  Chinese — 
much  less  for  any  foreigner — to  say  with  authority.  There  is 
among  the  people,  despite  their  loquacity — an  instinct  of  ret- 
icence in  every  way  commendable.  Little  value  is  placed 
upon  infant  life.  The  air  is  always  full  of  rumors  and  sus- 
picious whispers,  so  that  the  judicious  will  believe  nothing  of 
which  there  is  not  positive  evidence.  The  Chinese  code  of 
morals  is  a lofty  one,  both  in  theory  and  in  practice.  The  so- 
cial arrangements  are  all  made  with  a carefulness  which  to  the 
Occidental  seems  mere  prudery,  but  which  the  accumulated  ex- 
perience of  millenniums  has  convinced  the  Chinese  to  be  not 
only  wise,  but  indispensable. 

Yet  in  the  conditions  of  everyday  life  it  is  simply  impossible 
that  theoretical  regulations  should  be  reduced  to  practice.  The 
elderly  women  die,  and  courtyards  are  left  from  sheer  neces- 
sity in  a condition  to  invite  catastrophe.  Against  a bad  father- 
in-law  especially  if  he  be  a widower — there  is  in  the  Chinese 
social  economy  no  provision  and  no  defence.  It  is  proverbial 
that  insinuations  lurk  about  the  dwelling-place  of  widows.  In 
a word  it  may  almost  be  said  that  no  one  has  absolute  con- 
fidence in  any  one  else. 

In  spite  of  all  apparent  evidence  to  the  contrary,  there  is 
adequate  reason  to  believe  that  Chinese  social  morality  at  its 
best  is  fully  equal  to  that  of  any  Western  land.  Yet  it  is 
necessary  to  take  careful  note  of  the  circumstance  that  the  con- 
sequences of  a lapse  from  virtue  are  destitute  of  the  ameliora- 
tions with  which  we  have  become  familiar.  The  principal  con- 
cern of  everyone  interested  is  the  “face”  of  the  family  in- 
volved, and  to  save  this  imaginary  self-respect  it  may  be  neces- 
sary for  some  one  to  commit  suicide,  which  is  done  with  the 
smallest  provocation  at  all  times.  No  Chinese  is  ever  quite 
free  from  the  dread  that  some  one  of  his  household  may  take 
this  step.  Provision  is  expressly  made  in  Chinese  law  for  the 
punishment  of  those  who  can  be  proved  to  have  “ urged  to 


UNSTABLE  EQUILIBRIUM  OF  THE  CHINESE  FAMILY  323 


death”  others;  a crime  which  is  treated  as  manslaughter. 
This  fact  alone  would  serve  as  a guage  of  the  wide  interval  be- 
tween the  civilizations  of  the  west  and  of  China. 

All  Chinese  may  be  said  to  have  strongly  developed  an  at- 
tachment to  the  family  in  which  they  were  born,  and  most  of 
them  have  also  strong  family  affections  running  in  specific  and 
limited  channels,  and  by  no  means  evenly  distributed.  They 
share  with  the  rest  of  the  race  a desire  to  make  their  families 
perpetual,  and  when  they  fail,  as  they  so  frequently  do,  their 
failure  is  the  more  conspicuous  by  reason  of  their  inalienable 
attachment  to  their  natal  soil.  In  order  more  deeply  to  ex- 
plore some  of  the  causes  of  their  want  of  success,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  go  farther  below  the  surface  of  the  Chinese 
family. 


XXVI 


INSTABILITY  FROM  FAMILY  DISUNITY 

^T'O  give  a correct  diagnosis  of  the  inner  causes  of  the  dis- 
unity  of  Chinese  social  and  family  life  without  at  the 
same  time  grossly  misrepresenting  both  the  Chinese  character 
and  society,  is  a hopeless  undertaking.  Merely  to  note  even 
the  most  authentic  and  typical  facts  is  to  convey  an  impression 
which  is  incorrect  because  it  is  not  proportional.  Every  family 
contains  within  itself  the  seeds  of  disunity,  and  if  they  do  not 
in  all  cases  produce  their  appropriate  harvest,  it  is  because  they 
are  mercifully  blighted  or  counteracted  in  their  development. 

Of  each  Chinese  family  a full  half  has  had  or  will  have  in- 
terests largely  at  variance  with  those  of  the  other  half.  Every 
Chinese  wife  came  by  no  choice  of  her  own  from  some  other 
family,  being  suddenly  and  irrevocably  grafted  as  a wild  stock 
upon  the  family  tree  of  her  husband.  As  we  have  already 
seen,  she  is  not  received  with  enthusiasm,  much  less  with 
affection  (the  very  idea  of  which  in  such  a connection  never 
enters  any  Chinese  mind)  but  at  best  with  mild  toleration,  and 
not  infrequently  with  aggressive  criticism.  She  forms  a link 
with  another  set  of  interests  from  which  by  disruption  she  has 
indeed  been  dissevered,  but  where  her  attachments  are  centred. 
The  affection  of  most  Chinese  children  for  their  mothers  is 
very  real  and  lasting.  The  death  of  the  mother  is  for  a 
daughter  especially  the  greatest  of  earthly  calamities.  Filial 
piety  in  its  cruder  and  more  practical  aspects  constantly  leads 
the  married  daughter  to  wish  to  transfer  some  of  the  property 
of  the  husband’s  family  to  that  of  her  mother.  The  tempta- 
tion to  do  so  is  often  irresistible,  and  sometimes  continues 
through  life,  albeit  with  many  dramatic  checks.  The  Chinese 

324 


INSTABILITY  FROM  FAMILY  DISUNITY 


325 


speak  of  this  habit  in  metaphorical  phrase  as  “a  leak  at  the 
bottom  ’ ’ which  is  proverbially  hard  to  stop.  It  is  a current 
saying  that  of  ten  married  daughters,  nine  pilfer  more  or  less. 
It  is  not  uncommon  to  hear  this  practice  assigned  as  one  of  the 
means  by  which  a family  is  reduced  to  the  verge  of  poverty. 
The  writer  once  had  occasion  to  acquaint  a Chinese  friend  with 
the  fact  that  a connection  by  marriage  had  recently  died.  He 
replied  thoughtfully  : “ It  is  well  she  is  dead ; she  was  glut- 
tonous, she  was  lazy ; and  beside  she  stole  things  for  her 
mother ! ” 

Visits  to  the  mother’s  family  constitute  by  far  the  most  sub- 
stantial joys  in  the  life  of  a young  Chinese  married  woman. 
It  is  her  constant  effort  to  make  them  as  numerous  as  possible, 
and  it  is  the  desire  of  her  husband’s  family  to  restrict  them, 
since  her  services  are  thus  partially  lost  to  them.  To  prevent 
them  from  being  wholly  so,  she  is  frequently  loaded  down  with 
twice  as  much  sewing  as  she  could  do  in  the  time  allowed,  and 
sent  off  with  a troop  of  accompanying  children,  if  she  has 
reached  so  advanced  a stage  as  to  be  a mother  of  a flock.  An 
invasion  of  this  kind  is  often  regarded  with  open  dissatisfaction 
by  her  father  and  brothers,  and  what  could  be  more  natural 
than  her  desire  to  appease  them  by  the  spoils  which  she  may 
have  wrested  from  the  Philistines  ? 

After  the  death  of  her  mother  the  situation  has  materially 
altered.  The  sisters-in-law  have  now  no  restraint  on  their  crit- 
icisms upon  her  appearance  with  her  hungry  brood,  and  her 
whole  stay  may  not  improbably  be  a struggle  to  maintain  what 
she  regards  as  her  rights.  It  is  one  of  the  many  pathetic 
sights  with  which  Chinese  society  abounds  to  witness  the 
effort  to  seem  to  keep  alive  a spark  of  fire  in  coals  which  have 
visibly  gone  out.  Not  to  have  any  “mother’s  family”  to 
which  to  go  is  regarded  as  the  depth  of  misery  for  a mar- 
ried woman,  since  it  is  a proclamation  that  she  no  longer  has 
any  one  to  stand  up  for  her  in  case  she  should  be  abused.  To 
discontinue  altogether  the  visits  thither  is  to  some  extent  a loss 


326 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


of  face,  which  every  Chinese  feels  keenly.  We  have  known  an 
old  woman  left  absolutely  alone  in  the  world,  obliged  at  the 
age  of  ninety-four  to  gather  her  own  fuel  and  do  whatever  she 
wanted  done  for  herself,  except  draw  water,  which  was  fur- 
nished her  by  a distant  relative  as  an  act  of  special  grace. 
Her  poverty  was  so  abject  that  she  was  driven  to  mix  fine 
earth  with  the  little  meal  that  sufficed  for  her  scanty  food,  that 
it  might  last  the  longer.  Yet  this  poor  creature  would  some- 
times be  missed  from  her  place,  when  it  was  reported  that  she 
had  gone  on  a visit  to  her  “ mother’s  family  ” consisting  of  the 
great-grandchildren  of  those  whom  she  had  known  in  youth  ! 

By  the  time  a married  woman  had  reached  middle  life  her 
interest  in  her  original  home  may  have  greatly  weakened. 
There  are  now  young  marriageable  girls  of  her  own  growing 
up,  each  of  whom  in  turn  repeats  the  experience  of  her  mother. 
To  their  fathers  and  also  to  their  brothers  these  girls  are  at  once 
a problem  and  a menace.  Could  the  birth-rate  of  girls  be  de- 
termined by  ballot  of  all  the  males  of  full  age,  it  is  probable 
that  in  a few  generations  the  Chinese  race  would  become  extinct. 
The  expression  “ commodity -on-which-money-has-been-lost,”  is 
a common  periphrasis  for  a girl.  They  no  sooner  learn  a little 
sewing,  cooking,  etc.,  than  they  are  exported,  and  it  is  pro- 
verbial that  water  spilled  on  the  ground  is  a synonym  for  a daugh- 
ter. “ Darnel  will  not  do  for  the  grain-tax,  and  daughters  will 
never  support  their  mothers.”  These  modes  of  speech  repre- 
sent modes  of  thought,  and  the  prevailing  thought,  although 
happily  not  the  only  thought  of  the  Chinese  people. 

Girls  as  a rule  have  next  to  no  opportunities  for  cultivating 
friendships  with  one  another.  The  readiness  with  which  un- 
der favourable  condition  such  attachments  are  formed  and  per- 
petuated, shows  how  great  a loss  is  their  persistent  absence. 
When  it  is  considered  that  each  Chinese  family  consists  not  of 
a man  and  his  wife  and  their  children,  but  of  married  sons,  and 
of  their  several  wives,  each  one  introduced  into  the  circle  in 
the  same  compulsory  way,  each  with  a strong  and  an  uncurbed 


INSTABILITY  FROM  FAMILY  DISUNITY 


327 


will,  yet  powerless  to  assert  herself  except  by  harsh  speeches 
and  bad  temper,  it  is  evident  that  the  result  is  not  likely  to  be 
unity. 

In  the  eye  of  Chinese  law  brothers  are  equal,  and  though  the 
elder  has  some  advantages,  a portion  larger  than  that  of  the 
others  is  not  one  of  them.  Sometimes  the  young  married  pair 
are  given  an  outfit,  say  of  cotton,  for  spinning  and  weaving, 
and  are  thenceforth  expected  to  support  themselves  by  this 
capital  and  their  own  added  labour.  Not  infrequently  an  un- 
equal distribution  of  the  land  is  made  among  several  brothers 
by  the  father  while  living,  a wrong  for  which  there  is  no  remedy 
other  than  remonstrance.  Neither  if  the  father  should  con- 
ceive the  idea  of  depriving  a son  of  any  portion  at  all  in  the 
land,  is  there  effective  redress. 

Should  the  property  be  held  in  common  according  to  Chinese 
traditions,  it  is  a physical,  a psychological,  and  a moral  im- 
possibility that  there  should  not  be  ceaseless  friction  among  so 
many  claimants  for  what  is  often  at  best  a most  inadequate 
support. 

The  Chinese  ideal  is  to  hold  the  family  property  in  common 
indefinitely.  But  the  Chinese  themselves  are  conscious  that 
theirs  is  not  an  ideal  world,  so  that  division  of  the  land  cannot 
always  be  postponed.  It  not  infrequently  happens  that  one  of 
the  sons  becomes  discontented,  and  commissions  one  of  the 
neighbours  to  tell  the  father  that  it  is  time  to  effect  a division. 
At  such  times  the  family  affairs  are  put  into  the  hands  of  third 
parties  who  are  supposed  to  be  entirely  disinterested,  but  some- 
times the  family  has  itself  so  well  under  control  as  to  be  able 
to  dispense  with  this  important  assistance.  The  middlemen 
who  have  to  conduct  operations,  begin  by  taking  an  inventory 
of  the  numerous  pieces  of  land,  the  buildings,  etc.,  which  they 
then  appraise  roughly,  endeavouring  to  separate  these  assets  into 
as  many  portions  as  there  are  to  be  shares.  A certain  part  of 
the  land  is  set  aside  for  “nourishing  the  old  age  ” of  the  par- 
ents ; and  perhaps  another  section  is  reserved  for  the  wedding 


328 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


expenses  of  unmarried  daughters  or  younger  sons.  What  re- 
mains is  to  be  divided,  which  is  accomplished  by  grouping  the 
portions,  and  writing  the  descriptions  of  the  several  pieces  of 
land,  houses,  etc.,  on  pieces  of  paper  which  are  rolled  up 
and  placed  in  a rice-bowl.  This  is  shaken  up  and  it  is  a 
courtesy  to  allow  the  youngest  son  to  draw  first.  Whatever  is 
noted  on  his  bit  of  paper  represents  his  share,  and  so  on 
until  all  are  drawn.  The  household  furniture,  water-jars, 
utensils  of  every  kind,  and  all  the  grain  and  fuel  on  hand 
must  be  all  taken  out  in  public  in  the  presence  of  the  mid- 
dlemen to  be  sure  that  nothing  is  secreted.  We  have  known 
a particularly  obstreperous  son  to  come  to  his  father’s  house 
the  day  after  a division,  and  under  pretence  of  looking  for 
something  which  he  had  lost,  to  feel  in  every  jar  and  pot  to 
be  sure  that  no  beans  or  millet  had  escaped  him.  In  a family 
where  harmony  reigns,  all  this  trouble  is  avoided,  but  such  are 
altogether  exceptional.  Shrewd  Chinese  estimate  that  out  of 
every  ten  families  which  “ divide  ” seven,  if  not  nine,  will  have 
a domestic  tempest  as  a concomitant,  and  these  storms  vary  all 
the  way  from  a short,  sharp  squall,  to  a hurricane  which  leaves 
everything  in  a wreck. 

It  is  the  Chinese  theory  that  parents  are  to  be  taken  care  of 
in  old  age  by  their  children  either  in  combination  or  in  rota- 
tion. But  cases  in  which  aged  mothers  have  a portion  to  them- 
selves, doing  all  their  own  cooking  and  most  of  the  other  nec- 
essary work  are  everywhere  numerous.  A Westerner  is  con- 
stantly struck  with  the  undoubted  fact  that  the  mere  act  of 
dividing  a property  seems  to  extinguish  all  sense  of  responsi- 
bility whatever  for  the  nearest  of  kin.  It  is  often  replied  when 
we  ask  why  a Chinese  does  not  help  his  son  or  his  brother  who 
has  a large  family  and  nothing  in  the  house  to  eat,  “We  have 
divided  some  time  ago.”  The  real  explanation  is  perhaps  to  be 
found  in  the  accumulated  exasperations  of  the  larger  part  of  a 
lifetime,  once  delivered  from  which,  a Chinese  feels  that  he 
can  judiciously  expend  his  energies  in  looking  out  for  Number 


INSTABILITY  FROM  FAMILY  DISUNITY 


329 


One,  leaving  the  rest  of  the  series  to  do  the  same  as  best  they 
may. 

If  a member  of  a family  is  absent  when  a division  is  made, 
it  is  common  to  hear  that  advantage  has  been  taken  of  that  fact 
to  assign  to  him  a portion  which  he  would  not  have  quietly  ac- 
cepted had  he  been  present.  This  is  particularly  the  case  with 
the  family  debts,  often  aggregating  a large  sum.  Sometimes  a 
young  man  is  forced  to  begin  life  weighted  down  with  several 
hundred  thousand  cash  worth  of  these  liabilities  due  to  some 
unprofitable  partnership  of  his  father  with  his  uncles — which 
may  have  extended  over  a period  of  perhaps  many  years. 

Another  most  undesirable  but  unavoidable  asset  is  “ empty 
grain-tax  land  ! ” This  means  a liability  to  pay  the  tax  on 
land  which  is  non-existent,  but  which  has  been  made  to  appear 
to  exist  by  mismeasurements  in  former  years,  either  by  accident 
or  design.  Suppose,  for  example,  that  a family  has  a hundred 
acres  of  land,  which  has  to  be  sold  in  small  pieces  from  time 
to  time  as  occasion  arises.  Each  surveying  party  works  from 
such  indefinite  boundaries  as  the  stump  of  an  aged  mulberry 
bush  to  another  stump  which  may  prove  to  be  missing.  The  one 
who  buys  the  land  will  use  his  best  efforts  to  see  that  he  gets 
good  measure,  which  it  is  no  concern  of  the  measurers  to  refuse. 
No  one  knows  exactly  what  is  left  until  some  final  measurement 
becomes  necessary,  when  it  often  appears  that  there  is  a short- 
age of  a considerable  amount.  From  deficits  like  this  there 
arises  the  necessity  of  paying  “ empty  taxes,”  and  though  the 
tax  itself  is  sufficiently  solid  and  substantial,  there  is  no  way 
known  to  Chinese  practice  by  which  such  injustice  can  be  rec- 
tified. The  son  who  finds  himself  saddled  with  this  sort  of  a 
burden  is  not  likely  to  contribute  to  the  harmony  of  the  house- 
hold in  future,  and  were  he  ever  so  much  inclined  to  bury  the 
matter  in  oblivion  and  “ eat  a dumb  man’s  loss,”  his  wife  would 
never  stop  talking  about  it,  unless  she  chanced  to  be  dumb  her- 
self. A complete  catalogue  of  the  possible  and  indeed  inevi- 
table occasions  which  produce  family  alienations  and  bitterness 


33° 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


would  of  itself  fill  a volume,  but  those  which  have  been  sug- 
gested may  serve  as  samples  of  them  all. 

It  deserves  mention  that  when  the  strain  has  reached  the 
breaking  point,  especially  when  it  is  difficult  for  the  aggrieved 
individual  to  go  off  to  a great  distance  and  escape  his  woes,  he 
is  often  seized  by  the  idea  of  administering  poison  to  the  per- 
son hated.  Were  the  list  of  toxic  substances  available  to  the 
Chinese  larger,  poisoning  would  be  far  more  frequent  than  at 
present.  As  it  is  cases  are  everywhere  to  be  heard  of,  and  oc- 
casionally foreigners  are  the  victims. 

While  this  chapter  was  in  preparation  a Chinese  friend 
called  to  ask  advice.  He  had  a nephew  thirty-six  years  of  age, 
who  until  recently  had  never  been  married.  He  is  a dull 
witted  man,  with  very  little  property,  and  had  never  been  re- 
garded as  a desirable  match.  About  five  months  previous  to 
the  recent  occurrence  which  led  to  the  request  for  advice,  a girl 
aged  sixteen  was  found  who  had  a deformity  in  one  limb  pre- 
venting her  from  making  a match.  A go-between  proposed 
her  for  this  bachelor  and  it  was  arranged  that  he  should  pay 
her  family  eight  strings  of  cash  for  “bridal  outfit,”  and  in  due 
time  the  marriage  took  place.  As  might  have  been  expected 
it  was  a conspicuously  infelicitous  one.  On  the  twenty-sixth 
day  of  the  first  moon  of  the  current  year,  the  husband  ate  a 
bowl  of  millet  which  seemed  to  him  to  have  a singular  taste, 
but  he  did  not  suspect  poison  until  he  had  taken  it  all,  when  he 
saw  arsenic  at  the  bottom.  After  violent  retching  he  was  some- 
what relieved.  The  next  day  but  one  the  same  thing  occurred, 
the  symptoms  being  graver.  He  vigorously  remonstrated,  and 
his  bride  left  for  her  home  some  miles  away.  The  husband 
was  now  very  ill,  and  was  waited  on  for  some  days  by  his  un- 
cle, at  the  times  of  whose  visit  for  advice  the  nephew’s  life  was 
supposed  to  be  out  of  danger.  The  uncle  wanted  to  know 
what  should  be  done  about  it.  In  an  empire  where  “ talka- 
tiveness ” is  a legal  ground  for  divorce,  it  naturally  appeared  to 
an  Occidental  that  repeated,  albeit  clumsy  attempts  at  poison- 


INSTABILITY  FROM  FAMILY  DISUNITY 


33* 


ing  might  be  equally  so.  But  the  uncle  explained  that  there 
was  a sister-in-law  who  objected.  Why?  Apparently  because 
having  invested  eight  strings  of  cash  in  a wife  it  was  a pity  to 
lose  her  for  a mere  trifle  like  this  ! The  matter  was  put  into 
the  hands  of  peace-talkers,  who  arranged  that  the  relative  who 
had  brought  the  bride  the  arsenic  should  kotow  to  the  man 
poisoned  by  the  arsenic,  and  that  the  family  of  the  bride  should 
pay  the  injured  husband  fifteen  strings  of  cash  wherewith  to 
recruit  his  depleted  vitality.  Meantime  the  bride  remained  at 
her  mother’s  home,  where  one  of  the  women  was  said  to  have 
beaten  her  a little.  She  is  not  divorced,  her  husband  being  re- 
luctant to  proceed  to  such  extremities,  in  part  on  account  of 
the  large  investment  originally  made,  and  in  part  for  fear  of 
ridicule.  In  due  time  she  will  probably  be  sent  back  to  his 
home  to  resume  her  experiments  in  the  art  of  making  home 
happy. 

Thus  far  we  have  spoken  of  disunity  of  Chinese  families  as 
promoted  by  that  intense  subjectivity  to  which  we  give  the 
name  selfishness.  There  are,  however,  many  other  factors  to 
be  taken  into  account,  which  have  to  do  with  racial  habits  and 
race  traits. 

To  affirm  that  every  Chinese  is  a natural  liar  is  a grievous 
error.  On  the  contrary  we  believe  the  Chinese  to  be  by  far 
the  most  truthful  of  Asiatics.  Yet  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
disingenuousness  is  to  them  a second  nature.  It  runs  through 
the  warp  and  woof  of  their  life. 

A witness  in  a Chinese  lawsuit  (where  veracity  is  more  than 
ordinarily  important)  usually  begins  his  mixture  of  three-tenths 
fact  with  seven-tenths  fiction  with  the  remark  : “I  will  not  de- 
ceive Your  Honour.”  In  this  he  speaks  the  truth, for  His  Honour 
knows  perfectly  well  that  the  witness  is  lying,  and  the  witness 
knows  that  His  Honour  knows  it.  The  only  question  is  in  re- 
gard to  the  percentage  of  falsehood,  and  as  to  which  particular 
statements  come  under  that  head.  The  same  principles  are  in 
operation  in  the  family  life  as  in  court.  Most  husbands  know 


33* 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


better  than  to  confide  the  real  state  of  their  affairs  to  their 
wives.  Children  in  turn  constantly  conceal  from  their  parents 
what  ought  to  be  known,  and  are  themselves  deceived  when- 
ever it  becomes  convenient  to  do  so.  A Chinese  woman  known 
to  the  writer  when  a mere  child  was  one  day  told  by  her  mother 
that  she  must  not  go  upon  the  street  to  play  as  usual,  but  must 
remain  in  the  house  and  have  her  clothes  changed.  This  was 
done,  and  before  she  knew  it,  she  was  thrust  into  a sedan-chair, 
and  was  on  the  way  to  the  house  of  her  “ husband,”  for  this 
was  her  marriage  ! The  conditions  which  would  make  such  an 
occurrence  possible,  would  produce  quite  naturally  many  phe- 
nomena of  a disagreeable  description.  It  is  a popular  adage 
that  “She  who  knows  how  to  behave  as  a daughter-in-law  will 
prevaricate  at  both  her  homes,  while  the  inexpert  daughter-in- 
law  reveals  what  she  knows  at  each  of  them  ” — and  is  in  con- 
stant trouble  in  consequence. 

Despite  their  disadvantages  wives  may  contrive  to  conceal 
from  their  husbands  the  fact  that  they  have  a little  property  in 
the  hands  of  some  member  of  the  wife’s  family.  The  writer 
is  acquainted  with  a Chinese  almost  sixty  years  of  age,  who 
has  a flock  of  grandchildren,  but  who  will  have  nothing  to  do 
with  his  wife  nor  she  with  him.  During  all  their  married  life, 
between  thirty  and  forty  years,  he  has  cherished  the  suspicion 
that  she  has  somewhere  at  interest  a considerable  sum  of  money 
which  she  will  not  share  with  him.  It  is  certainly  not  true 
that  all  Chinese  deceive  one  another,  but  it  is  surely  true  that 
there  is  always  danger  of  it,  which  everywhere  begets  unrest 
and  suspicion.  It  is  also  an  allied  phenomenon  that  the  prin- 
cipals in  a matter  may  be  totally  unable  to  ascertain  the  real 
facts  with  which  every  one  else  is  perfectly  acquainted,  but 
which  no  one  will  tell. 

Mencius  remarked  that  the  feeling  of  pity  is  common  to  all 
men,  and  what  was  true  in  his  day  is  no  less  so  now.  At  the 
same  time  there  are  wide  differences  in  its  exhibition.  Every 
Chinese  is  a seasoned  soldier  in  the  warfare  of  life  and  is  ac- 


INSTABILITY  FROM  FAMILY  DISUNITY 


333 


customed  to  every  form  and  grade  of  misery.  His  first  thought 
at  such  a spectacle  is  not,  Cannot  something  be  done  about  it  ? 
but  if  he  has  a thought  at  all  it  is  far  more  likely  to  be,  Why 
should  / do  anything  about  it  ? Ages  of  hereditary  experience 
have  taught  him  not  too  rashly  to  indulge  in  sentimental  be- 
nevolence which  may  have  disagreeable  sequelae.  A Chinese 
remarked  in  the  writer’s  hearing  while  glancing  at  the  corpse 
of  a man  who  had  died  far  from  home  under  painful  circum- 
stances: “This  plaything  will  be  hard  to  transport.”  Of 
what  we  call  sympathy  he  had  not  the  smallest  conception.  A 
few  years  later  this  same  individual  was  seized  by  the  District 
Magistrate  of  the  county  in  which  he  lived,  thrust  into  the 
standing-cage  (a  punishment  far  more  horrible  than  the  slicing 
process,  since  the  victim  is  conscious  but  is  in  a position  of  acute 
agony  without  food  or  water  until  he  miserably  perishes)  with 
no  definite  charge  of  any  kind  against  him,  and  with  no  trial 
whatever.  The  only  comment  of  many  of  these  who  had  once 
known  him  well,  was  either  that  it  was  just  what  might  have 
been  expected,  or  that  it  was  probably  just  what  he  deserved. 

The  typical  Chinese  is  a good-natured,  even-tempered, 
peaceable  individual,  ready  to  do  his  part  in  life  without  shirk- 
ing, and  asking  only  for  fair  treatment.  But  as  the  placid  sur- 
face of  many  lakes  is  often  lashed  into  fury  by  sudden  and 
violent  winds  pouring  down  through  mountain  gorges,  so  the 
equilibrium  of  the  Chinese  is  liable  to  be  destroyed  by  gusts  of 
terrible  passion,  instantly  transforming  him  from  a quiet  mem- 
ber of  a well  ordered  society,  into  an  impressive  object-lesson 
on  the  reality  of  demon  possession.  Whether  life  is  worth  liv- 
ing has  been  thought  “to  depend  upon  the  liver.”  In  China 
one  might  rather  affirm  that  it  hinges  upon  the  spleen.  Some 
of  our  readers  may  not  be  unfamiliar  with  a legend  of  a dis- 
tinguished American  who  was  provided  by  his  kind  father  with 
a little  hatchet  which  he  tried  upon  a favourite  cherry  tree  with 
marked  success.  When  the  father  discovers  this,  he  asks  who 
did  the  deed,  upon  which  the  child  handsomely  confesses,  and 


334 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


is  clasped  to  his  father’s  arms  with  the  remark  that  he  would 
rather  lose  many  cherry  trees  than  to  have  his  son  tell  a lie. 
The  whole  occurrence  probably  did  not  consume  more  than 
ten  minutes.  To  illustrate  some  of  the  traits  of  disunity  al- 
ready mentioned,  let  us  translate  this  incident  into  Chinese. 

Mr.  Hua  Hsing-tun  was  a well-to-do  farmer,  who  had  in  his 
courtyard  a handsome  pomegranate  tree  of  which  he  was  very 
proud.  His  youngest  son  one  day  got  hold  of  a sickle,  which 
had  been  sharpened  ready  to  cut  wheat  the  next  morning. 
With  this  implement  he  chopped  at  everything  he  saw,  and 
among  the  rest,  at  the  pomegranate  tree  which  fell  at  the  third 
blow.  Seeing  what  mischief  he  had  done,  he  ran  to  the  other 
end  of  the  village  where  he  played  with  some  boys  whom  he 
told  that  a cousin  (the  third  son  of  his  fourth  uncle)  had  done 
the  deed.  This  was  overheard  by  a neighbour  who  passed  on 
to  the  other  end  of  the  village  just  in  time  to  hear  Mr.  Hua 
angrily  roaring  out  the  inquiry  who  had  spoiled  his  pet  tree. 
During  a lull  in  the  storm  the  neighbour,  who  had  stepped  into 
the  courtyard  to  see  what  was  the  matter,  confided  to  another 
neighbour  that  it  was  the  nephew  who  had  done  the  mischief. 
The  neighbours  soon  after  depart.  As  no  one  in  the  yard 
knows  anything  about  the  tree,  Mr.  Hua,  white  with  rage,  con- 
tinues his  bawling  upon  the  village  street,  denouncing  the  indi- 
vidual who  had  killed  his  tree.  An  older  son  who  has  just 
come  up,  having  heard  the  story  of  the  two  neighbours,  repeats 
it  to  his  father,  who  gaining  at  last  a clue,  rushes  to  his  fourth 
brother’s  yard,  only  to  find  no  one  at  home  but  his  sister-in- 
law,  whom  he  begins  to  revile  in  the  most  outrageous  manner. 
For  an  instant  only  she  is  surprised,  then  takes  in  the  situation 
and  screams  at  her  brother-in-law,  returning  his  revilings  with 
compound  interest  added.  He  retreats  into  the  alley  and 
thence  to  the  street,  whither  she  follows  him,  shrieking  at  the 
top  of  her  voice. 

At  this  juncture  the  unfortunate  nephew  alleged  to  be  the 
author  of  the  mischief  attracted  by  the  clamour  comes  home, 


INSTABILITY  FROM  FAMILY  DISUNITY 


335 


when  the  infuriated  unde  administers  a great  deal  of  abusive 
language  relative  to  his  illegitimate  descent  from  a base  ances- 
try, as  well  as  a stunning  blow  with  a stick.  This  drives  the 
mother  of  the  child  to  frenzy,  and  she  attacks  her  brother-in- 
law  by  seizing  his  queue,  being  immediately  pulled  off  by  the 
second  brother,  and  some  neighbours,  there  being  now  fifty  or 
more  spectators.  The  fourth  sister-in-law  is  forcibly  dragged 
back  to  her  own  yard  by  several  other  women,  screaming  defi- 
ance as  she  goes,  and  ends  by  scratching  her  own  face  in  long 
furrows  with  her  sharp  nails,  being  presently  covered  with 
blood.  Her  husband  has  now  come  in  furious  at  the  insult  to 
his  family,  reviles  the  elder  brother  (and  his  ancestry)  declar- 
ing that  he  will  immediately  go  to  the  yam6n  and  lodge  a com- 
plaint. He  takes  a string  of  cash  and  departs  on  this  errand, 
but  is  subsequently  followed  several  miles  by  six  men,  who 
spend  two  hours  in  trying  to  get  him  to  return,  with  the  promise 
that  they  will  “talk  peace.”  About  midnight  they  all  reach 
home.  Most  of  the  next  five  days  is  spent  in  interviews  be- 
tween third  parties,  who  in  turn  have  other  conferences  with 
the  principals.  At  the  expiration  of  this  period  all  is  settled. 
Mr.  Hua  the  elder  is  to  make  a feast  at  an  expense  of  not  less 
than  ten  strings  of  cash,  at  which  he  shall  admit  that  he  was  in 
error  in  reviling  this  sister-in-law  at  that  time ; the  younger 
brother  is  to  accept  the  apology  in  the  presence  of  fourteen 
other  men  who  have  become  involved  in  the  matter  at  some  of 
its  stages.  When  the  feast  has  been  eaten,  “harmony”  is  re- 
stored. But  what  about  the  author  of  all  this  mischief?  Oh, 
“he  is  only  a child.”  With  which  observation  the  whole  af- 
fair is  dismissed,  and  forgotten. 

Chinese  quarrels  are  objectionable  by  reason  of  their  sudden- 
ness, their  violence,  and  their  publicity.  The  last  named 
feature  is  the  one  most  repugnant  to  Western  civilization  which 
has  not  yet  learned  how  to  avoid  domestic  disputes  itself.  As 
every  occurrence  immediately  becomes  public  property,  the 
element  of  “face”  at  once  enters  in,  demanding  an  adjust- 


336 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


ment  which  shall  put  the  injured  party  right  in  the  presence  of 
the  rest  of  creation  always  conceived  as  looking  critically  on. 

One  of  the  most  melancholy  phenomena  of  Chinese  life  is 
the  suddenness,  the  spontaneity,  the  inexorableness  with  which 
natural  affection  and  all  kindly  relations  under  certain  condi- 
tions seem  absolutely  to  wither  up.  If  a member  of  a clan 
comes  into  collision  with  the  prejudices  of  the  generation  above 
his  own,  or  even  with  that  to  which  he  himself  belongs,  his 
grandfather,  father,  great  uncles,  uncles,  cousins,  and  brothers 
often  promise  to  break  his  legs,  rub  out  his  eyes  with  quick- 
lime, and  the  like,  and  not  infrequently  carry  these  threats  into 
execution.  It  is  constantly  mentioned  as  a mitigation  of  an 
attack  with  violence,  that  there  was  no  intention  to  kill  the  in- 
dividual, only  to  maul  him  till  he  had  so  many  broken  bones 
that  he  could  not  stir  ! 

If  the  matter  comes  to  a lawsuit,  it  is  a common  cry  that  no 
compromise  shall  ever  be  made,  until  the  opponent  has  parted 
with  his  last  piece  of  land.  The  suspense  of  mind  under 
which  many  Chinese  habitually  live,  uncertain  whether  these 
menaces  will  be  carried  into  execution,  would  drive  an  Occi- 
dental to  insanity  or  to  suicide,  or  both.  A frequent  ending  to 
a stormy  conference  is  the  dark  hint : “ We  shall  see  about 

this  later.” 

The  Chinese  are  firm  believers  in  the  doctrine  of  rewards 
and  punishments.  A man  who  has  been  conspicuous  for  his 
evil  deeds  will  meet  no  shadow  of  sympathy  when  trouble  of 
any  sort  overtakes  him.  He  is  a tiger  in  a pit.  Such  an  one 
who  was  attacked  with  worm-breeding  corrosive  ulcers,  dragged 
himself  to  the  terrace  of  one  of  the  temples  of  his  native  vil- 
lage, where  he  lay  sometimes  in  a coma,  and  at  others  scream- 
ing with  pain.  His  neighbours  would  revile  him  as  they  passed 
with  the  comment : “ It  is  heaven’s  vengeance  ! ” 

The  Chinese  character  often  abounds  in  amiable  alleviations 
of  conditions  which  would  seem  at  first  sight  to  make  existence 
intolerable.  In  the  breasts  of  the  Chinese,  as  in  ours,  Hope 


INSTABILITY  FROM  FAMILY  DISUNITY 


337 


springs  eternal.  His  generalizations  from  the  experience  of 
others  as  well  as  his  own,  render  him  measurably  certain  that 
in  the  long-run  almost  nothing  will  go  right.  He  expects  to 
meet  insincerity,  suspicion,  and  neglect,  and  he  is  rarely  dis- 
appointed. He  will  often  be  dependent  upon  those  who  would 
be  glad  to  get  rid  of  him,  and  who  keep  him  constantly  aware 
of  this  fact.  He  knows  as  certainly  before  as  after  the  event 
that  the  loans  which  he  is  obliged  to  make  will  not  be  repaid  at 
the  proper  time,  nor  in  full ; that  the  promised  assistance  if 
given  at  all  will  be  rendered  grudgingly,  and  perhaps  turned 
into  open  hostility.  It  is  proverbial  that  he  has  in  his  mind 
“two  hundred  next  years”  but  he  is  not  infrequently  perfectly 
aware  that  no  number  of  “ next  years  ” will  ever  suffice  to  get 
him  straight  with  the  world.  Yet  amid  all  this  he  generally 
maintains  a serene  cheerfulness  which  to  us  would  be  as  impos- 
sible as  comfortable  respiration  in  the  foul  atmosphere  of  a 
Chinese  sleeping-room.  He  is  used  to  it — we  are  not.  A man 
of  this  type  weighted  with  a termagant  wife,  who  had  become 
exasperated  by  the  unexpected  remarriage  of  a brother  of  her 
husband  for  twenty  years  a widower,  and  who  filled  the  house 
with  a tempest  in  consequence,  said  to  the  writer  that  for  the 
past  three  months  he  had  not  drawn  “one  peaceful  breath  ! ” 
This  was  not  mentioned  by  way  of  complaint,  but  as  one  might 
refer  in  reply  to  an  inquiry  about  a troublesome  corn  on  the 
toe.  Under  stress  of  this  sort  many  Chinese  exhibit  a degree 
of  forbearance  to  which  it  is  to  be  feared  we  have  no  counter- 
part in  the  West,  where  individual  rights  have  not  for  ages  been 
merged  in  those  of  the  family.  Such  persons  are  said  to  “eat 
a dumb  man’s  injury,”  and  the  number  of  them  is  proverbially 
unlimited,  for  the  class  is  immortal. 

No  one  who  is  intimately  acquainted  with  their  real  life  is 
likely  to  exaggerate  the  evils  from  which  the  Chinese  suffer, 
since  the  strongest  representation  often  seems  to  come  short  of 
the  truth.  But  every  one  finds  himself  asking  by  what  means  it 
would  be  possible  to  forefend  some  of  these  evils.  Since  many 


338 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


of  them  appear  to  be  inseparably  associated  with  that  poverty 
which  is  apparently  the  keynote  of  Chinese  discords,  one  is 
tempted  to  imagine  that  if  poverty  were  abolished,  family  dis- 
unity also  would  largely  disappear.  Something  may  be  said  in 
favour  of  this  theory,  but  it  fails  in  presence  of  the  undoubted 
fact  that  the  evils  to  be  remedied  are  perhaps  quite  as  prevalent 
among  those  Chinese  who  are  fairly  well  off,  as  among  the 
poor,  besides  being  much  more  conspicuous  and  irrepressible. 

Moral  discord  can  be  cured  only  by  radical  and  not  by 
superficial  remedies.  Yet  there  is  one  prescription  of  an 
economic  as  distinguished  from  a moral  type  which  were  it 
tried  on  a large  scale  for  a generation  or  two  might  work  such 
a revolution  that  China  would  hardly  know  itself.  If  mar- 
riages could  be  invariably  postponed  until  the  partners  had  ar- 
rived at  mature  age,  and  if  on  occasion  of  the  marriage  of  each 
son  the  family  property  were  divided  so  that  a conflict  of  inter- 
ests were  no  longer  unavoidable,  a whole  continent  of  evils 
would  be  nipped  in  the  bud. 

At  the  inquiry  held  in  marine  courts  as  to  the  reasons  for  the 
wreck  of  great  steamers  with  all  their  passengers  and  cargo,  in 
the  Formosan  Channel,  it  is  often  shown  that  the  vessel  was 
acted  upon  by  a powerful  but  hidden  current  which  made  ruin 
inevitable.  The  hereditary  habits  of  the  Chinese  in  the 
agglomeration  of  large  numbers  of  individuals  under  one  head 
constitute  a drift  toward  disunity  and  disintegration.  We 
firmly  believe  that  the  strain  upon  the  temper  and  the  disposi- 
tion incident  to  the  mechanical  collocation  of  so  many  human 
beings  in  one  compound-family  on  the  Chinese  plan  is  one 
which  no  society  in  the  world  could  endure,  because  it  is  more 
than  human  nature  can  bear.  It  is  certain  that  the  resultant 
evils  are  inevitable,  insufferable,  and  by  any  means  at  the  com- 
mand of  the  Chinese  incurable. 


PART  III 


Regeneration  of  the  Chinese  Village 


XXVII 


WHAT  CAN  CHRISTIANITY  DO  FOR  CHINA? 

T T OWEVER  inadequte  or  imperfect  our  survey  of  the  life  of 
the  Chinese  Village  may  have  been,  it  must  at  least  have 
shown  that  it  has  defects  of  a serious  character.  It  is  therefore 
a legitimate  question  how  they  are  to  be  remedied,  on  the  sup- 
position that  they  can  be  remedied  at  all. 

It  is  certainly  conceivable  that  there  might  be  many  remedial 
agencies  set  at  work  with  varying  degrees  of  success ; but  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  so  far  as  we  are  aware,  there  is  but  one  the 
friends  of  which  have  been  stimulated  to  try  on  any  extended 
scale.  That  sole  agency  is  Christianity.  It  thus  becomes  an 
inquiry  of  great  moment,  what  effect  the  introduction  into 
China  of  Christianity  in  its  best  form  may  be  rationally  ex- 
pected to  exert  upon  the  springs  of  the  national  life  and  char- 
acter of  the  Chinese.  What  can  Christianity  do  for  the  Chinese 
family  ? What  can  it  do  for  the  Chinese  boy  and  girl  ? 

In  the  first  place  it  can  take  better  care  of  them.  The  dense 
and  impenetrable  ignorance  which  sacrifices  so  large  a propor- 
tion of  Chinese  infants  during  the  first  two  years  of  their  life, 
might  perhaps  be  counteracted  in  other  ways,  but  it  is  probably 
safe  to  predict  that  it  never  would  be.  To  the  Chinese  girl  the 
practical  introduction  of  Christianity  will  mean  even  more  than 
to  her  brother.  It  will  prevent  her  from  being  killed  as  soon 
as  she  is  born,  and  will  eventually  restore  her  to  her  rightful 
place  in  the  affections  of  her  parents.  It  is  never  enough 
merely  to  point  out  the  folly,  danger,  or  sin  of  a given  course 
of  action.  There  must  be  moral  as  well  as  intellectual  en- 
lightenment, cooperation  in  a new  social  order,  the  stimulus 
both  of  precept  and  example,  and  adequate  moral  sanctions. 

34i 


342 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


This  can  be  furnished  by  Christianity  alone.  History  testifies 
that  if  Christianity  begins  to  lose  its  power,  the  dormant  forces 
of  human  selfishness,  depravity  and  crime  reassert  themselves 
in  infant  murder. 

Christianity  will  call  into  existence  a sympathy  between  par- 
ents and  children  hitherto  unknown,  and  one  of  the  greatest 
needs  of  the  Chinese  home.  It  will  teach  parents  to  govern 
their  children,  an  accomplishment  which  in  four  millenniums 
they  have  never  made  an  approach  to  acquiring.  This  it  will 
do,  not  as  at  present  by  the  mere  iterative  insistence  upon  the 
duty  of  subjection  to  parents,  but  by  showing  parents  how  first 
to  govern  themselves,  teaching  them  the  completion  of  the  five 
relations  by  the  addition  of  that  chiefest  one  hitherto  unknown, 
expressed  in  the  words  Our  Father.  It  will  redeem  many  years 
during  the  first  decade  of  childhood,  of  what  is  now  a mere 
animal  existence,  filling  it  with  fruitfulness  for  a future  intel- 
lectual and  spiritual  harvest. 

It  will  show  Chinese  parents  how  to  train  as  well  as  how  to 
govern  their  children — a divine  art  of  which  they  have  at  pres- 
ent no  more  conception  than  of  the  chemistry  of  soils.  It  will 
put  an  end  to  the  cruelty  and  miseries  of  foot-binding.  To- 
ward this  great  reform  there  was  never  in  China  the  smallest 
impulse,  until  it  had  long  been  urged  by  Christian  forces.  If 
it  shall  prove  at  length  to  have  successfully  taken  root  in  China 
apart  from  Christianity,  that  fact  would  be  a luminous  star  in 
the  East  showing  that  there  are  no  Chinese  walls  which  may 
not  ultimately  fall  before  the  blast  of  Christian  trumpets. 

Christianity  will  revolutionize  the  Chinese  system  of  educa- 
tion. Such  a revolution  might  indeed  take  place  without  ref- 
erence to  Christianity.  The  moral  forces  which  have  made 
China  what  it  is,  are  now  to  a large  extent  inert.  To  introduce 
new  intellectual  life  with  no  corresponding  moral  restraints, 
might  prove  far  more  a curse  than  a blessing,  as  it  has  been  in 
the  other  Oriental  lands.  Christian  education  will  never  make  the 
mistake  so  often  repeated  of  seeking  for  fruits  where  there  have 


Little  Old  People. 


Going  to  a Christian  School. 


IV  HAT  CAN  CHRISTIANITY  DO  FOR  CHINA ? 343 


been  no  roots.  It  starts  from  a fixed  point  and  moves  onward 
to  a definite  end. 

Christian  education  will  teach  the  Chinese  child  his  own 
tongue  in  a rational  manner.  It  will  abbreviate  to  the  greatest 
possible  extent  “ the  toils  of  wandering  through  the  wilderness 
of  the  Chinese  language  to  arrive  at  the  deserts  of  Chinese 
literature.”  It  will  awaken  the  child’s  hibernating  imagination, 
enormously  widen  his  horizon,  develop  and  cultivate  his  judg- 
ment, teach  him  the  history  of  mankind,  and  not  of  one  branch 
only.  Above  all  it  will  arouse  his  conscience,  and  in  its  light 
will  exhibit  the  mutual  interrelations  of  the  past,  the  present, 
and  the  future.  It  will  create  an  intellectual  atmosphere  in  the 
home,  causing  the  children  to  feel  that  their  progress  at  school 
is  intimately  related  to  instruction  at  home,  and  has  a personal 
interest  to  the  parents  and  to  the  family  as  a whole.  The  value 
of  such  a stimulus,  now  totally  lacking  in  most  Chinese  homes, 
is  beyond  calculation,  and  would  of  itself  easily  double  the 
mental  output  of  every  family  into  which  it  entered. 

Christianity  will  provide  for  the  intellectual  and  spiritual 
education  of  girls  as  well  as  boys,  when  once  the  Christian 
point  of  view  has  been  attained.  The  typical  Chinese  mother 
is  “an  ignorant  woman  with  babies,”  but  she  is  not  the 
Chinese  ideal  woman  as  the  long  list  of  educated  ladies  in 
many  dynasties  (a  number  too  considerable  to  be  ignored  but 
too  insignificant  to  be  influential)  abundantly  shows.  A 
Chinese  girl  told  her  foreign  friend  that  before  Christianity 
came  into  her  life,  she  used  to  go  about  her  work  humming  a 
ballad,  consisting  of  the  words  : “ The  beautiful  teacup  ; the 

painted  teacup ; the  teacup,  the  teacup,  the  beautiful,  beauti- 
ful teacup.”  Contrast  the  outlook  from  such  an  intellectual 
mouse-hole  with  the  vista  of  a maiden  whose  thoughts  are  ele- 
vated to  the  stars  and  the  angels.  By  developing  the  neglected 
spiritual  nature,  Christianity  will  broaden  and  deepen  the  ex- 
isting rills  of  natural  affection  into  glorious  rivers  wide  and 
deep,  supplementing  the  physical  and  the  material  by  the  intel- 


344 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


lectual  and  the  divine.  By  cultivating  a fellowship  between 
mothers  and  daughters  in  all  these  and  in  other  lines,  it  will 
make  it  easier  for  children  to  love  their  fathers  and  respect  their 
mothers,  and  will  fill  the  lives  of  both  parents  and  children 
with  new  impulses,  new  motives  and  new  ambitions.  It  will 
impel  mothers  to  give  their  daughters  much  needed  instruction 
in  their  future  duties  as  daughters-in-law  and  as  wives,  instead 
of  throwing  them  overboard  as  now,  often  in  mere  childhood, 
expecting  them  to  swim  untaught,  against  the  current,  and  in 
the  dark. 

It  will  for  the  first  time  provide  and  develop  for  the  daugh- 
ters girl  friendships,  adapted  to  their  long-felt  but  uncompre- 
hended needs.  The  education  of  Chinese  women  is  a condi- 
tion of  the  renovation  of  the  empire.  No  nation,  no  race  can 
rise  above  the  status  of  its  mothers  and  its  wives.  How  deftly 
yet  how  surely  Christianity  is  beginning  to  plant  its  tiny  acorns 
in  the  rifts  of  the  granitic  rock  may  be  seen  in  the  surprising 
results  already  attained.  When  the  present  isolated  and  initia- 
tory experiments  shall  have  had  time  to  bring  forth  fruit  after 
their  kind,  it  will  be  clearly  perceived  that  a new  and  an  Im- 
perial force  has  entered  into  the  Chinese  world. 

Christianity  wherever  introduced  tends  to  a more  rational 
selection  of  partners  for  its  sons  and  daughters  than  has  ever 
been  known  before.  In  place  of  the  mercenary  considerations 
which  alone  find  place  in  the  ordinary  practice  of  the  Chinese, 
it  naturally  and  inevitably  leads  to  the  choice  of  Christian 
maidens  for  daughters-in-law,  and  Christian  youths  for  sons-in- 
law.  It  attaches  weight  to  character,  disposition  and  acquire- 
ments instead  of  to  wealth  and  to  social  position  alone.  A 
Christian  community  is  the  only  one  in  China  where  it  is  pos- 
sible to  learn  with  certainty  all  important  facts  with  regard  to 
those  who  may  be  proposed  for  matrimonial  engagements,  be- 
cause it  is  only  in  such  a community  that  dependence  can  be 
placed  upon  the  representations  of  third  parties.  As  Christian 
communities  come  more  and  more  to  distinct  self-consciousness, 


IV HAT  CAN  CHRISTIANITY  DO  FOR  CHINA ? 345 

more  and  more  care  will  be  exercised  in  making  matches. 
Christians  are  indeed  the  only  Chinese  who  can  be  made  to 
feel  that  caution  in  this  direction  is  a religious  duty.  The  re- 
sult of  this  process  continued  for  an  extended  period  will  pro- 
duce by  “natural  selection  ” a distinctly  new  type  of  Chinese, 
physically,  intellectually,  and  morally  the  superiors  of  all  types 
about  them  and  therefore  more  fitted  to  survive. 

Chinese  customs  will  not  be  rashly  invaded,  but  the  ultimate 
tendency  will  be  to  postpone  marriage  to  a suitable  age,  to 
consider  the  preferences  of  the  principal  parties — so  far  as  they 
may  have  any — and  to  make  wedlock  a sacred  solemnity  in- 
stead of  merely  a social  necessity. 

Christianity  will  make  no  compromise  with  polygamy  and 
concubinage,  but  will  cut  the  tap-root  of  a upas-tree  which 
now  poisons  Chinese  society  wherever  its  branches  spread. 
Christianity  will  gradually  revolutionize  the  relations  between 
the  young  husband  and  his  bride.  Their  common  intellectual 
and  spiritual  equipment  will  have  fitted  them  to  become  com- 
panions to  one  another,  instead  of  merely  commercial  partners 
in  a kettle  of  rice.  The  little  ones  will  be  born  into  a Chris- 
tian atmosphere  as  different  from  that  of  a non-Christian  house- 
hold as  the  temperature  of  Florida  from  that  of  Labrador. 
These  forces  will  be  self-perpetuating  and  cumulative. 

Christianity  will  purify  and  sweeten  the  Chinese  home,  now 
always  and  everywhere  liable  to  devastating  hurricanes  of  pas- 
sion, and  too  often  filled  with  evil-speaking,  bitterness  and 
wrath.  The  imperative  inhibition  of  all  manner  of  reviling 
would  alone  do  more  for  domestic  harmony  than  all  the  wise 
maxims  of  the  sages  mechanically  learned  and  repeated  could 
accomplish  in  a lifetime.  Indeed,  Christianity  will  take  these 
semi-animate  precepts  of  the  dead  past,  breathe  into  them  for 
the  first  time  the  breath  of  life,  and  then  reinforce  them  with 
the  Word  of  the  Lord  and  the  sanctions  of  His  Law. 

Christianity  will  introduce  a new  and  a potent  factor  into 
the  social  life  of  the  Chinese  by  its  energy  as  a prophylactic. 


346 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


Chinese  society  has  a virtuous  talent  for  “ talking  peace  ” when 
there  is  no  peace,  and  when  matters  have  come  to  such  a pitch 
that  a catastrophe  appears  inevitable.  But  the  remedy  almost 
invariably  comes  too  late.  Chinese  “ peace-talking  ” is  usually 
a mere  dust-storm,  unpleasantly  affecting  the  eyes,  the  ears, 
the  nostrils  of  every  one  exposed  to  it,  thinly  covering  up  the 
surrounding  filth  with  even  impartiality,  while  after  all  leaving 
the  whole  of  it  just  where  it  was  before.  Christianity  is  an 
efficient  sanitary  commission  which  aims  at  removing  every- 
thing that  can  breed  pestilence.  In  this  it  will  not,  indeed, 
entirely  succeed,  but  its  introduction  upon  a large  scale  will  as 
certainly  modify  Chinese  society,  as  a strong  and  steady  north- 
east wind  will  eventually  dissipate  a dense  fog. 

As  has  been  already  remarked,  perhaps  there  is  no  single 
Chinese  custom  which  is  the  source  of  a larger  variety  of  mis- 
chief than  that  of  keeping  large  family  organizations  in  a con- 
dition of  dependence  upon  one  another  and  upon  a common 
property,  instead  of  dividing  it  up  among  the  several  sons, 
leaving  each  free  to  work  out  his  own  destiny.  The  inevitable 
result  is  chronic  discontent,  jealousy,  suspicion,  and  on  the 
part  of  many  indolence.  This  is  as  clearly  perceived  by  the 
Chinese  as  by  us,  indeed  far  more  so,  but  hereditary  cowardice, 
dread  of  criticism,  and  especially  of  ridicule  prevent  myriads 
of  families  from  effecting  the  desired  and  necessary  division, 
lest  they  be  laughed  at.  Christianity  is  itself  a defiance  of  all 
antecedent  public  opinion,  and  an  appeal  to  a new  and  an 
illuminated  understanding.  Christian  communities  will  prob- 
ably more  and  more  tend  to  follow  the  Scriptural  plan  of  making 
one  man  and  one  woman  a new  family,  and  by  this  process 
alone  will  save  themselves  an  infinity  of  misery.  This  will  be 
done,  not  by  the  superimposition  of  any  force  from  without, 
but  by  the  exercise  of  a common  sense  which  has  been  at  once 
enlightened  to  see  and  emboldened  to  act,  attacking  with  cour- 
age whatever  needs  amendment. 

Christianity  will  introduce  an  entirely  new  element  into  the 


IV HAT  CAN  CHRISTIANITY  DO  FOR  CHINA ? 347 


friendships  of  the  Chinese,  now  too  often  based  upon  the  selfish 
considerations  suggested  by  the  maxim  of  Confucius,  “ Have 
no  friends  not  equal  to  yourself.”  Friendship  is  reckoned 
among  the  Five  Relations  and  occupies  a prominent  place  in 
Chinese  thought  as  in  Chinese  life.  But  after  all  is  conceded 
in  regard  to  it  which  can  be  reasonably  claimed,  it  remains 
true  that  its  benefits  are  constantly  alloyed  by  mutual  insin- 
cerity and  suspicion,  and  not  infrequently  by  jealousy.  This 
the  Chinese  themselves  are  ready  to  admit  in  the  frankest  man- 
ner ; but  as  they  have  no  experience  of  friendships  which  arise 
from  conditions  above  and  beyond  those  of  the  material  issues 
of  everyday  life,  no  remedy  for  existing  evils  is  ever  thought 
of  as  possible.  Those  Chinese  who  have  become  intimate  with 
congenial  Christian  friends,  recognize  at  once  that  there  is  a 
flavour  and  a zest  in  such  friendships  not  only  unknown  before, 
but  absolutely  beyond  the  range  of  imagination.  Amid  the 
poverty,  barrenness,  and  discouragements  of  most  Chinese  lives, 
the  gift  of  a wholly  new  relationship  of  the  sort  which  Chris- 
tianity imparts  is  to  be  reckoned  among  the  choicest  treasures 
of  existence. 

The  theory  of  the  Chinese  social  organization  is  admirable 
and  beautiful,  but  the  principles  which  underlie  it  are  utterly 
inert.  When  Christianity  shows  the  Chinese  for  the  first  time 
what  these  traditional  principles  really  mean,  the  theories  will 
begin  to  take  shape  as  possibilities,  even  as  the  bones  of  Ezekiel’s 
vision  took  on  flesh.  Then  it  will  more  clearly  appear  how 
great  an  advantage  the  Chinese  race  has  enjoyed  in  its  lofty 
moral  code.  The  Classical  but  not  altogether  intelligible  aph- 
orism that  “within  the  Four  Seas  all  are  Brethren,”  requires 
the  Christian  teaching  regarding  a common  Father  to  make  it 
vital  to  Chinese  consciousness.  When  once  the  Chinese  have 
grasped  the  practical  truth  of  the  Fatherhood  of  God  and  the 
Brotherhood  of  Man,  the  starlight  of  the  past  will  have  been 
merged  into  the  sunlight  of  the  future. 

In  China  the  family  is  a microcosm  of  the  empire.  To  amplify 


34» 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


illustrations  of  the  modus  operandi  of  Christianity  on  a wider 
scale  beyond  the  family  is  superfluous.  What  Christianity  can 
do  in  one  place  it  can  do  in  another.  Though  soils  and  climate 
vary,  the  seed  is  the  same.  For  the  changes  which  Christianity 
alone  can  affect,  China  is  waiting  to-day  as  never  before.  Her 
most  intelligent  thinkers — too  few  alas,  in  number — recognize 
that  something  must  be  done  for  her.  They  hope  that  by  the 
adoption  of  certain  formulae,  educational,  industrial,  econom- 
ical, China  may  be  saved,  not  perceiving  that  her  vital  lack  is 
neither  Capital  nor  Machinery,  but  Men.  The  New  China  is 
to  be  penetrated  by  numerous  railways,  and  by  steam  naviga- 
tion of  its  inland  waters.  Vast  industrial  enterprises  such  as 
mines  and  factories  will  call  for  great  supplies  of  labour  from 
the  most  numerous  people  on  earth.  In  the  management  of 
these  immense  and  varied  interests,  in  the  conduct  of  the  new 
education  which  China  cannot  dispense  with,  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  all  branches  of  its  government  China  must  have  men 
of  conscience,  and  of  sterling  character.  It  has  hitherto  been 
impossible  to  secure  any  such  men  except  by  importation ; how 
is  it  to  be  otherwise  in  the  future?  Only  by  the  cultivation  of 
conscience  and  character  as  they  have  been  cultivated  in  lands 
to  which  China  is  at  last  driven  to  turn  for  help.  Like  all 
processes  of  development  this  will  be  a slow  one,  but  it  will 
be  sure;  and  aside  from  it  there  is  literally  no  hope  for 
China. 

With  its  other  great  benefits  Christianity  will  confer  upon 
China  real  patriotism,  at  present  existing  almost  entirely  in  the 
blind  impulses  of  the  bias  of  national  feeling.  During  the 
political  crises  of  the  past  few  years,  the  great  mass  of  the 
Chinese  people  have  been  profoundly  indifferent  to  the  fate  of 
their  country,  and  in  this  respect  there  has  been  little  distinc- 
tion between  scholars,  farmers,  merchants,  and  coolies.  Each 
individual  has  been  chiefly  occupied  in  considering  how  in  any 
cataclysm  impending  he  could  make  with  fate  the  best  bargain 
for  himself.  If  there  are  any  exceptions  to  this  generalization, 


WHAT  CAN  CHRISTIANITY  DO  FOR  CHINA ? 349 


so  far  as  we  know  they  consist  exclusively  of  those  who  have 
been  acted  upon  by  forces  from  outside  of  China. 

The  Christian  converts  are  now  sufficiently  numerous  to  show 
in  what  direction  their  influence  will  be  felt  in  the  not  distant 
future.  They  are  keenly  alive  to  what  is  taking  place  in  the 
empire,  and  they  may  almost  be  said  to  be  the  only  Chinese  in 
it  who  are  so.  China  will  never  have  patriotic  subjects  until 
she  has  Christian  subjects,  and  in  China  as  elsewhere  Chris- 
tianity and  patriotism  will  be  found  to  advance  hand  in  hand. 

It  must  be  distinctly  understood  that  all  which  we  have  said 
of  the  potency  of  Christianity  as  of  “ unwasting  and  secular 
force  ’ ’ is  based  upon  the  conception  of  it  as  a moral  power 
“producing  certain  definite  though  small  results  during  a cer- 
tain period  of  time,  and  of  a nature  adapted  to  produce  indefi- 
nite similar  results  in  unlimited  time.”  It  is  therefore  emi- 
nently reasonable  to  point  out  that  under  no  circumstances  can 
it  produce  its  full  effects  in  less  than  three  complete  generations. 
By  that  time  Christian  heredity  will  have  begun  to  operate.  A 
clear  perception  of  this  fundamental  truth  would  do  much  to 
abate  the  impatience  alike  of  its  promotors  and  its  critics. 

There  are  some  Occidentals  with  large  knowledge  of  China 
who  seriously  raise  the  question,  What  good  can  Christianity 
do  in  China?  Of  what  use  is  it  fora  Chinese  to  be  “con- 
verted ” ? 

To  infer  from  any  phenomena  of  Chinese  life  that  the  Chin- 
ese do  not  need  a radical  readjustment  of  their  relations  is  to 
judge  most  superficially.  Patient  and  long  continued  exami- 
ation  of  these  phenomena  in  their  endless  variety  and  complex- 
ity, shows  clearly  the  imperative  necessity  of  a force  from  with- 
out to  accomplish  what  all  the  forces  from  within  operating  un- 
impeded for  ages  have  been  powerless  to  effect.  To  those  who 
know  the  Chinese  people  as  they  are  the  question  what  good 
Christianity  can  do  them,  answers  itself.  Of  the  necessity  of 
a new  power  the  Chinese  themselves  are  acutely  conscious. 
If  what  has  been  already  set  forth  in  proof  of  the  proposition 


35° 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


that  there  is  imperative  need  of  renovation  is  regarded  as  ir- 
relevant or  inadequate,  then  further  debate  is  indeed  vain. 

But  it  may  be  objected  that  the  views  here  taken  of  the  ef- 
ficacy of  the  remedy  are  exaggerated.  Those  Chinese  who 
have  had  the  best  opportunity  to  become  acquainted  with  the 
nature  of  the  benefits  which  Christianity  affords,  perceive  its 
adaptation  to  China’s  need.  All  that  is  required  to  render  the 
proof  to  every  reasonable  inquirer  as  complete  as  evidence  can 
be  made,  is  a searching  and  scientific  analysis  of  known  facts. 
The  case  for  Christianity  in  China  may  rest  solely  upon  the 
transformations  which  it  actually  effects.  These  are  not  upon 
the  surface,  but  they  are  as  real  and  as  capable  of  being  accu- 
rately noted  as  the  amount  of  the  rain-fall,  or  the  precession 
of  the  equinoxes.  They  consist  of  revolutionized  lives  due  to 
the  implanting  of  new  motives  and  the  influence  of  a new  life. 
They  occur  in  many  different  strata  of  society,  and  with  the 
ever  widening  base-line  of  Christian  work  they  are  found  in 
ever  increasing  numbers.  At  first  few  and  isolated,  they  are 
now  counted  by  scores  of  thousands.  Among  them  are  many  im- 
mature and  blighted  developments,  as  is  true  of  all  transitional 
phenomena  everywhere  ; but  the  indisputable  residuum  of  gen- 
uine transformations  furnish  a great  cloud  of  witnesses  in  the 
presence  of  which  it  is  unnecessary  to  inquire  further  what 
good  Christianity  will  do  the  Chinese,  and  of  what  use  it  will 
be  to  a Chinese  to  be  converted.  It  will  make  him  a new 
man,  with  a new  insight  and  a new  outlook.  It  will  give  back 
his  lost  soul  and  spirit,  and  pour  into  all  the  avenues  of  his  na- 
ture new  life.  There  is  not  a human  relation  in  which  it  will 
not  be  felt  immediately,  profoundly,  and  beneficently. 

It  will  sanctify  childhood,  ennoble  motherhood,  dignify  man- 
hood, and  purify  every  social  condition.  That  Christianity 
has  by  no  means  yet  done  for  Western  lands  all  that  we  expect 
it  to  do  for  China,  we  are  perfectly  aware.  Christianity  has 
succeeded  wherever  it  has  been  practiced.  It  is  no  valid  ob- 
jection to  it  that  it  has  been  misunderstood,  misrepresented 


WHAT  CAN  CHRISTIANITY  DO  FOR  CHINA?  351 


and  ignored.  Whatever  defects  are  to  be  found  in  any  Chris- 
tian land,  not  the  most  unintelligent  or  the  most  sceptical 
would  be  willing  to  be  transplanted  into  the  non-Christian  con- 
ditions out  of  which  every  Christian  land  has  been  evolved. 
It  must  be  remembered  also  that  although  the  lessons  of 
Christianity  are  old,  the  pupils  are  ever  new.  Each  genera- 
tion has  to  learn  its  lesson  afresh.  It  has  well  been  said  that 
heredity,  so  mighty  a force  for  evil,  has  not  yet  been  captured 
for  Christianity  on  any  large  scale,  and  its  reserves  turned  to 
the  furtherance  of  Christian  forces.  When  it  has  been  so  taken 
captive,  progress  upward  will  be  greatly  accelerated. 

How  long  it  will  take  Christianity  to  renovate  an  empire  like 
China,  is  a question  which  may  be  answered  in  different  ways, 
but  only  hypothetically.  First  by  historical  analogies.  It  took 
eight  centuries  to  develop  the  Roman  Empire.  It  has  taken 
about  as  long  to  mold  Saxon,  Danish,  and  Norman  elements 
into  the  England  of  to-day.  Each  of  these  race-stocks  were  at 
the  start  barbarous.  The  Chinese  are  an  ancient  and  a highly 
civilized  race,  a fact  which  may  be  in  some  respects  a help  in 
their  Christianization,  and  in  others  a hindrance.  Taking  into 
account  the  intensity  of  Chinese  prejudices,  the  strength  of 
Chinese  conservatism,  the  vast  numbers  involved  and  their 
compact,  patriarchal  life,  we  should  expect  the  first  steps  to  be 
very  slow.  Reckoning  from  the  general  opening  of  China  in 
i860,  fifty  years  would  suffice  for  a good  beginning,  three  hun- 
dred for  a general  diffusion  of  Christianity,  and  five  hundred 
for  its  obvious  superseding  of  all  rival  faiths.  Reasoning  from 
history  and  psychology  this  is  perhaps  a probable  rate  of  prog- 
ress, and  its  realization  would  be  a great  result. 

There  is  however  a different  sort  of  forecast  which  appeals 
to  many  minds  more  powerfully.  It  must  be  remembered  that 
spiritual  development,  like  that  of  races,  is  slow  in  its  inception, 
but  once  begun  it  takes  little  account  of  the  rules  of  ratio 
and  proportion.  The  intellectual,  moral,  and  spiritual  forces 
of  Christianity  are  now  far  greater  than  they  have  ever  been 


352 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  CHINA 


before.  The  world  is  visibly  contracted.  The  life  of  the  man 
of  to-day  is  that  of  “a  condensed  Methusaleh.”  The  nine- 
teenth century  outranks  the  previous  millennium.  Great  ma- 
terial forces  are  but  types  and  handmaids  of  great  spiritual 
forces  which  may  be  reinforced  and  multiplied — as  they  have 
been  at  certain  periods  of  the  past — to  a degree  at  present  little 
anticipated. 

Putting  aside  all  consideration  of  the  time  element,  we  con- 
sider it  certain  that  what  Christianity  has  done  for  us  it  will 
do  for  the  Chinese,  and  under  conditions  far  more  favourable, 
by  reason  of  the  high  vitalization  of  the  age  in  which  we  live, 
its  unfettered  communication,  and  the  rapid  transfusion  of  in- 
tellectual and  spiritual  forces.  The  forecast  of  results  like 
these  is  no  longer  the  iridescent  dream  which  it  once  appeared. 
It  is  sober  history  rationally  interpreted.  When  Christianity 
shall  have  had  opportunity  to  work  out  its  full  effects,  it  will  be 
perceived  to  have  been  pervasive  leaven  in  the  individual  heart, 
in  society,  and  in  the  world.  Whether  it  is  to  take  five  cen- 
turies or  fifty  to  produce  these  results  appears  to  be  a matter  of 
altogether  minor  importance  in  view  of  certain  success  in  the 
end. 

There  are  in  China  many  questions  and  many  problems,  but 
the  one  great  question,  the  sole  all-comprehending  problem  is 
how  to  set  Christianity  at  work  upon  them,  which  alone  in  time 
can  and  will  solve  them  all. 


END 


Index 


Abacus,  Chinese,  105. 

Abdomen,  the  seat  of  intellect,  85. 

Actors  debarred  from  literary  de- 
grees, 54;  different  grades,  57; 
salaries,  58. 

Adobe  houses,  construction,  23. 

Adoption,  conditions,  251,  252. 

Aged,  occasional  hard  lot  of  the, 
326. 

“ Analects  ” quoted,  93. 

Architecture  of  China  described,  25. 

Arnold  of  Rugby  vs.  Confucius,  72. 

“Backing”  the  lesson,  81;  illus- 
tration, 81,  82. 

Betrothal,  evils  of  early,  267. 

Bookkeeping,  difficult  in  Chinese, 

52- 

“ Book  of  Surnames,”  84. 

Books  copied  by  poor  scholars,  100. 

Borrowing,  its  universal  necessity, 
204,  205. 

“ Bowl  associations,”  188. 

Boys  and  men,  village : infancy  of, 
237,  238;  “ milknames  ” given 
them,  238 ; why  called  by  girls’ 
names,  238  ; names  a clue  to  re- 
lationship, 239 ; “ style,”  239, 
240;  secret  titles  used  on  letters, 
240;  titles  for  men,  240;  boys 
carried  about  for  years,  241 ; 
Chinese  fathers  not  sympathetic 
with  childhood,  242,  243 ; boys’ 
amusements  and  toys,  242-245 ; 
do  not  rob  birds’  nests,  244; 
work  of  boys,  245-247 ; their 
wages,  247  ; outings,  247  ; “ don- 
ning the  cap  ” on  arriving  at 

3S3 


majority,  247,  248 ; getting  mar- 
ried, 248-250;  adoption  of  sons, 
251,  252;  adopting  a daughter’s 
husband,  252;  “reverting  to 
original  names,”  253,  254;  two 
branches  of  a family  represented 
by  one  man,  254 ; treatment  in 
serious  illness,  255,  256;  subor- 
dination of  men  to  the  elder  re- 
lationships, 256;  summary  of  vil- 
lage boy’s  limitations,  256,  257. 

Bricks,  colour  and  manufacture  of, 
22 ; adobe,  23. 

Bridal  chair,  269;  its  dismantling, 
271. 

Bully,  the  village : peculiar  to 
China,  21 1 ; Chinese  traits  favour- 
ing his  existence,  21 1;  names, 
211,216;  differentiated  from  four 
cognate  classes  of  society,  21 1, 
212;  dual  classification  of  vil- 
lagers, 212;  three  varieties  of 
bully,  212-225  1 dress  of  bullies, 
213;  how  one  becomes  a “vil- 
lage king,”  214 ; gymnastic  prep- 
aration, 215  ; poverty  as  a quali- 
fication, 216  ; bullies  as  incendi- 
aries, 217  ; as  crop  injurers,  217, 
218 ; feeders  to  the  yamens,  218  ; 
devices  used  against  the  rich, 
218,219;  the  literary  bully,  219 ; 
the  female  bully,  219;  organiza- 
tion of  a bully’s  followers,  220, 
221;  attacks  on  yamens,  222; 
worsted,  222;  power  when  influ- 
ential, 223 ; an  illustration  of 
such  a bully,  223-225. 

Candidates  for  examination,  112. 

Carts,  39  ; how  drawn,  39. 


354 


INDEX 


Cash,  one  way  of  securing  rare 
coins,  52. 

Cash  payments  rare,  206. 

Cave  dwellings,  22. 

Chang  Kung,  27. 

Chen-tien,  or  market  towns,  147. 

Christianity,  what  can  it  do  for 
China  ? it  can  care  for  children 
physically,  341,  342;  it  creates 
sympathy  between  parents  and 
children,  342 ; it  teaches  child- 
training, 342 ; it  will  revolution- 
ize education,  342,  343;  will 
educate  girls  as  well  as  boys, 
343 ; will  foster  girl  friendships, 

344  ; will  lead  to  Christian  choice 
of  partners  in  marriage,  344, 

345  ; will  postpone  marriage  to 
a suitable  age,  345  ; will  oppose 
polygamy  and  concubinage,  345  ; 
will  sweeten  and  purify  home 
life,  345 ; will  be  a true  peace- 
maker, 346 ; will  make  man  and 
wife  the  unit  of  society,  346; 
will  change  ideals  of  friendship, 
347  ; will  implant  Christian  idea 
of  brotherhood,  347 ; will  im- 
prove the  government,  348 ; will 
implant  patriotism,  348,  349;  the 
time  required  for  this  process, 
349.  35  r>  35 2:  this  prophecy 
based  on  past  accomplishment, 
350;  Christianity’s  ultimate  tri- 
umph, 352. 

Chu  Hsi’s  Commentary,  87. 

Cities  irregular  in  form  and  reason 
therefor,  20 ; monotonous  appear- 
ance, 25. 

Civilization  unable  to  vitally  change 
China,  348. 

“ Classics,”  their  excellencies,  95  ; 
their  defects,  95,  96. 

Classification  unheard  of  in  Chinese 
schools,  90. 

Colquhoun’s  volume  and  its  impor- 
tance, 16,  note. 

Concubinage,  297,  300-302. 


Confucius  and  his  son,  70,  7 1 ; his 
theory  of  teaching,  71,  72;  hon- 
oured in  schools,  76. 

Constables,  local,  228. 

Conversation,  topics  of,  315. 

Cotton-gathering  and  manufacture, 
276. 

Cotton-gleaning,  166,  167. 

Courtyard,  arrangement  of  build- 
ings in  a,  25  ; animals  in,  28. 

Crop-watching  societies,  why  nec- 
essary, 161-164;  description  of 
watchers’  lodges,  162;  fate  of 
captured  thieves,  163;  announc- 
ing the  existence  of  a society, 
164 ; how  expense  is  borne,  164  ; 
agreement  entered  into,  165; 
trial  and  punishment  of  thieves, 
165,  166;  fines,  168;  effect  on 
health,  168. 

Daughters,  infancy  of,  237. 

Dead,  marrying  to  the,  298,  299. 

Degrees,  sale  of,  121 ; three  meth- 
ods of  falsely  securing,  122-126; 
motives  leading  men  to  compete 
for  degrees,  132,  133. 

Democracy  in  China  apparent,  not 
real,  226. 

Dictionary,  standard  Chinese,  97. 

Digging  through  walls  by  thieves, 
28. 

Display,  Chinese  love  of,  191. 

“ Distant  reserve,”  a Chinese  factor 
in  education,  72,  73. 

District  officials’  occasional  objec- 
tions to  theatres,  59. 

Divorce,  seven  grades  of,  288. 

Dogs  destroyers  of  crops,  162. 

Door-locking  and  thieves,  28. 

Dunning  must  be  repeated,  206, 
207. 

Educational  Edicts  of  1898,  134, 
135;  results,  135. 


INDEX 


355 


Education,  Chinese  theories  of,  7 1- 
73;  its  object,  91,  106. 

Education  of  girls  unnecessary,  264. 

Emigration  made  necessary  in 
Yung  Lo’s  time,  20. 

Essay  brokers,  124,  125. 

Essay,  its  place  in  Chinese  educa- 
tion, no,  in. 

Examinations  announced,  in,  112; 
District  Examinations,  first  day, 
11 2,  113;  second  to  fourth  days, 
113;  fees,  113,  114;  second  ex- 
amination on  fifth  or  sixth  day, 
114;  third  examination,  114; 
fourth  examination,  114;  fifth 
examination,  115;  number  of 
successful  candidates  small,  115; 
Prefectural  Examinations,  their 
character,  116;  number  of  candi- 
dates, 116;  severity  of  hall  reg- 
ulations, 117,  118;  fees  of  suc- 
cessful candidates,  119;  “joyful 
announcements,”  119,  120;  hon- 
ours paid  successful  candidates, 
120;  diplomas  lacking,  120,  I2I  ; 
literary  buttons  and  their  forfeit- 
ure, 121 ; result  of  negligence  of 
examiners,  127,  128;  examina- 
tions required  after  first  degree 
is  obtained,  129. 

Fairs,  shopkeepers  preparing  for, 
50 ; gambling  at  temple  fairs, 
144;  differentiated  from  markets, 
149 ; numbers  attending,  149 ; 
duration,  150;  essentials  to  their 
success,  150;  opened  by  a play, 
150. 

“ Falconing  " with  a woman,  296. 

Family  disunity : why  marriage  is 
an  element  in  this,  324-326;  dis- 
unity due  to  daughters,  326 ; due 
to  married  sons  living  at  home, 
326,  327  ; due  to  distribution  of 
property,  327-329 ; due  to 
“ empty  grain-tax  land,”  329, 330 ; 
due  to  poisoning  propensities, 
33°,  331 ; due  to  lack  of  mutual 
confidence,  332;  due  to  lack  of 


sympathy  and  pity,  333 ; due  to 
“face,”  335,  336;  due  to  trans- 
migration ideas,  336 ; due  to  do- 
mestic brawls,  337 ; partial 
remedy  for  this  disunity,  338. 

Family,  unstable  equilibrium  of  the 
Chinese:  unit  of  social  life,  317  ; 
equilibrium  affected  by  famine, 
317;  by  inundation,  317,  318; 
by  rebellions,  318;  by  the  labour 
market,  318;  by  lawsuits,  319; 
by  debts,  320;  by  sickness,  320, 
321 ; by  gambling  and  opium 
among  the  wealthy,  321 ; by  so- 
cial immorality,  322. 

Farmers  in  China  comparatively  in- 
dependent, 146. 

Farms  in  various  plots,  163. 

“ Feast  ” in  its  technical  sense,  183. 

Ferries,  why  essential  in  the  North, 
39 ; loading  animals  and  carts  on 
the  boats,  40,  41  ; unloading,  41 ; 
why  ferry  reforms  are  deemed 
impossible,  42. 

Ferule  and  its  uses,  78,  89. 

Financiering,  seven  deadly  sins  of 
Chinese,  204-208. 

“ Five  Classics,”  85. 

Five  degrees  of  relationship,  193. 

Foot-binding,  261. 

Foreigners  attacked  in  theatres,  65, 

66. 

“ Four  Books,”  85. 

Freedom  of  assembling,  228. 

Funerals : of  suicides,  186 ; why  pil- 
laging occurs  at  rich  men’s  funer- 
als, 186;  fate  of  unpopular  sur- 
vivors, 187;  announcing  funeral 
expense  deficits,  187,  188;  coop- 
erative bearers,  188;  catafalque 
ownership,  188;  funeral  aid  so- 
cieties, 189,  190;  two  factors  de 
termining  elaborateness  of,  192; 
rites  of  the  “ seven  sevens,”  192  ; 
shabby  paraphernalia,  193; 
mourning  costume,  193;  block- 


35® 


INDEX 


ing  the  procession,  194;  funeral 
director’s  duties,  194;  at  the 
grave,  195. 

Gathering  fuel  and  manure,  246, 
247. 

Girls  and  women  in  China:  girls’ 
inferiority  to  boys,  258;  unwel- 
come at  birth,  258;  reasons  for 
female  infanticide,  258,  259;  sale 
of  daughters,  259,  260;  “rear- 
ing marriage,”  260 ; foot-binding, 
261;  girls’  employments,  261; 
confined  at  home,  262;  married 
daughter’s  return  home  and  its 
consequences,  263,  264 ; daugh- 
ters rarely  taught  to  read,  264; 
anxiety  about  girl’s  betrothal, 
265 ; restrictions  after  betrothal, 
265,  266;  evils  of  early  engage- 
ments, 267 ; engagement  cards, 
268  ; arrival  of  bridal  chair,  268, 
269;  “lucky  days”  sometimes 
unlucky,  269 ; delivery  of  bride 
essential  feature  of  wedding,  269 ; 
dowry,  270,  271;  birth  of  first 
baby,  272;  children  must  be 
born  at  their  father’s  house,  272, 
273  ; faulty  care  of  infants  and 
children,  274,  275  ; mortality  of 
infants,  274,  275;  early  senility 
of  women,  275  ; incessant  labours 
of  women,  275,  276;  daughter- 
and  mother-in-law,  276,  277 ; 
abuse  of  daughters-in-law  and 
consequent  retaliation,  277-279 ; 
why  lawsuits  in  such  cases  are 
rare,  279,  280;  result  of  bride’s 
suicide,  281 ; a typical  case,  282- 
286  ; number  of  women  suicides, 
286 ; suicide  a virtue,  extract 
from  the  Shik  Pao,  287,  288; 
grounds  of  divorce,  288,  290; 
why  women  must  be  married, 
289 ; prudishness  in  speaking 
about  marriage,  290,  291 ; sons 
should  be  married  before  parents’ 
death,  291,  292;  marriage  to  ep- 
ileptics, idiots,  etc.,  292;  kidnap- 
ping of  wives,  292-295  ; wives 


sold  by  husbands,  295,  296; 
“ cheaper  than  an  animal,”  297  ; 
concubines,  297,  300-302;  mar- 
rying the  dead,  298,  299;  men 
and  women  do  not  eat  together, 
302;  husband  and  wife  do  not 
converse,  303 ; wife’s  twofold  de- 
fence, 303,  304 ; hen-pecked  hus- 
bands, 304,  305  ; classical  teach- 
ing concerning  women,  305,  306 ; 
Confucianism’s  seven  sins  against 
woman : lack  of  education,  306, 
307 ; sale  of  wives  and  daugh- 
ters, 307,  308 ; early  and  too 
universal  marriage,  308;  female 
infanticide,  308,  309 ; secondary 
wives,  309 ; suicide  of  wives  and 
daughters,  309 ; overpopulation, 
3°9>  3!o. 

God  of  Literature,  140. 

God  of  War,  137. 

Government  high  schools  or  col- 
leges, 1 3 1, 

Government,  weaknesses  of  Chi- 
nese, 220;  its  strength,  221. 

Grapevines  unlucky  in  yards,  24. 

Greek  drama  in  some  respects  like 
the  Chinese,  56. 

Hare  hunting  in  Denmark,  175. 

“ Harrying  to  death,”  185. 

Headmen,  village : names,  227 ; 
qualifications,  227 ; duties  and 
functions,  227-229 ; “ ins  ” and 
“outs,”  229,  230;  why  incompe- 
tents are  not  removed,  230 ; re- 
sult of  complaints  illustrated, 
230-232 ; facility  with  which 
troubles  arise  in  village  life,  233, 
234- 

High  schools,  how  different  from 
common  schools,  no;  Govern- 
ment high  schools,  131. 

History,  Chinese,  99. 

History  taught  through  plays,  66. 

Hospitable  man  described,  180. 

Houses  of  stone,  22 ; of  bricks,  22 ; 


INDEX 


357 


of  adobe,  23 ; their  roof,  23  j 
rooms,  25  ; doors,  26  ; windows, 
26 ; k'angs,  26,  27  ; floors,  28 ; 
furnishings,  28. 

Hsien  District,  conditions  in,  317, 
318,  note. 

Hsiu-ts‘ai  obliged  to  attend  exam- 
inations after  graduation,  129. 

Ice-sleds,  245. 

Illness  announced  and  the  results, 
255- 

Imperial  University  in  Peking,  135. 

Incendiary  fires,  217. 

Infanticide  of  girls,  258,  259;  op- 
position to,  259. 

Infant  mortality,  274. 

Intellectuality  without  stimulus  ex- 
cept in  school,  91 ; intellectual 
obtuseness,  101. 

Interest  per  month,  152,  210. 

K'ang,  construction  and  use  of,  26, 
27- 

Kidnapping  wives,  292-295. 

Kinship  claimed  for  inheritance, 
253- 

Kitchen  god,  27 ; at  New  Year, 
199. 

Kung-shSng’s  rank,  129,  130. 

Lending  a necessity,  205,  206. 

Letters,  ambiguity  of  address,  240. 

Letter-writing,  101,  102. 

Life  in  villages,  monotony  and  vacu- 
ity of : villages  a fixture,  312;  their 
intellectual  life  in  grooves,  313; 
illiteracy  a source  of  vacuity,  315; 
topics  of  conversation,  315;  in- 
difference to  happenings  outside 
the  village,  315,  316;  travelled 
villagers  speedily  stagnate,  316. 

Li  Hung  Chang  honouring  snakes, 
169. 

Literary  chancellor’s  duties,  III. 

Live-stock  fairs,  148. 


Loan  Societies,  object,  152;  sim- 
plest form,  152,  153;  feasts,  153; 
societies  charging  interest,  154; 
method  of  securing  loans,  154, 
155 ; tables  illustrating  their 
working,  155,  156;  insuring  pay- 
ment, 157;  risks  involved,  157, 
158;  Hong  Kong  lawsuit  re 
such  societies,  158-160. 

Local  deity,  T‘u-ti,  137,  138. 

Lord  Clive  a Chinese  bully  in  boy- 
hood, 218. 

“ Lord-of-bitterness,”  i.  <?.,  elder 
brother,  283. 

Markets,  why  necessary,  146; 
harmful  to  morals,  147 ; “ of- 
ficial” markets,  147;  number 
attending,  147 ; use  made  of 
market  taxes,  148;  market-day 
nomenclature,  148,  149;  “mar- 
ket ” and  “ fair  ” differentiated, 
149;  taxes  levied,  149,  150;  co- 
operation most  helpful  in  one  re- 
spect, 1 5 1. 

Mencius’  view  of  teachers,  70. 

Men  (See  Boys  and  men). 

Mill,  James,  and  his  method  of 
teaching,  72. 

Mind,  characteristics  of  the  Chinese, 
102;  like  a high  bicycle,  103. 

Ming  Huang,  the  god  of  actors,  54. 

Mohammedans  exempt  from  temple 
assessment,  137. 

Mothers-in-law,  276,  277. 

Names  of  villages  derived  from 
surnames,  30 ; from  temples,  30 ; 
confusion  in  names,  31,  32; 
names  derived  from  distances, 
31 ; villages  nicknamed,  33;  sin- 
gular names,  33,  34. 

Naming  children,  238;  a clue  to 
relationship,  239. 

New  Year  in  China:  dumplings, 
196,  197;  family  reunions,  197, 
198;  new  clothes  essential  to, 


3S» 


INDEX 


198,  199;  New  Year  religious 
rites,  199,  200;  its  social  cere- 
monies, 200,  201 ; universal  leis- 
ure of  the  time,  201,  202;  gam- 
bling, 202,  203 ; debt-paying, 
203,  204 ; lantern  search  for 
debtors,  208. 

New  Year  Societies:  fees,  209; 
use  of  funds,  209  ; consequences 
if  not  paid,  210;  gamblers’  use 
of  its  funds,  210. 

“ Odes,  Book  of,”  quoted,  237. 

Parents,  care  of  in  Chinese  the- 
ory, 328,  329. 

Partial  payments  in  China,  207, 
208. 

Peking  Gazette,  99. 

Pig-styes,  28,  29. 

Pits  near  villages,  24. 

Poisoning  in  China,  330,  331. 

Population  of  China  : ignorance  of 
the  Chinese  people  concerning 
it,  17;  official  ignorance  on  the 
subject,  17;  attempts  of  foreign- 
ers to  ascertain  density  in  certain 
districts,  18,  19;  too  great,  308, 
309- 

Poverty  characteristic  of  China,  310, 
31 1 ; its  alleviation,  31 1. 

Property,  distribution  of,  327-329. 

Proverbs  : concerning  teachers,  73, 
74 ; school  discipline  in  last 
month,  76 ; necessity  of  continu- 
ous study,  91 ; reading  required, 
if  one  would  know  history,  99 ; 
funeral  feasts,  1 92 ; girls  vs.  boys, 
258 ; obstreperous  women,  305  ; 
daughters  useless  to  mother’s 
family,  326. 

Punctuality  a lost  art  in  China,  15 1. 

Rain-making  : gods  connected 

therewith,  169,  170;  iron  tablets 
used,  170;  why  these  methods 
seem  efficacious,  17 1;  detrimen- 


tal influences,  17 1;  punishment 
of  unsuccessful  rain-gods,  172. 

Reforms  in  China,  how  to  be  se- 
cured, 43 ; difficult  in  educa- 
tional matters,  107. 

Relationships,  assumed,  240. 

Religious  societies,  four  character- 
istics of,  141 ; two  varieties  of 
“Mountain  Societies,”  142,  143; 
program  on  reaching  the  moun- 
tain, 144,  145 ; the  secret  sects, 
*45- 

Roads  in  villages  used  as  shops, 
35 ; “ low-ways,”  35 ; why 

crooked,  35  ; flanked  by  ditches, 
36 ; in  rainy  season  often  rivers, 
36 ; method  of  making  new  ones, 
37  ; road-building  and  la  grippe, 

38- 

Scholars  “ not  utensils,”  93 ; 
economically  they  are  useless, 
94;  an  exception,  94;  begging 
of  foreigners,  94,  95 ; without 
adequate  literary  apparatus,  96, 
97 ; their  ignorance  of  history, 
98,  100;  of  geography,  101 ; their 
conservatism,  103;  lack  of  liter- 
ary judgment,  104;  ignorance  of 
arithmetic,  105 ; strolling  schol- 
ars, 107-109;  functions  at  funer- 
als, 133;  in  lawsuits,  133;  sub- 
jectivity of,  313;  gullibility,  314; 
riots  due  to  their  credulity,  314, 

315- 

Schoolboy  beginning  his  studies, 
80;  honoured  in  the  family,  91, 
92;  a spoiled  child,  92;  effects 
of  study,  92,  93. 

Schoolhouses,  75 ; their  furniture, 
75.  76. 

Schools  in  villages,  why  important, 
70;  prevalence  of  schools,  73; 
abundance  of  teachers,  73 ; sal- 
aries, 74;  school  lists,  74;  ar- 
rangements concerning  tuition, 
75;  schoolhouses,  75;  furniture, 
75,  76 ; duration  of  school  year, 
76;  vacations,  76,  90;  honour 


INDEX 


359 


shown  to  Confucius,  76;  school 
hours  and  intermissions,  77; 
heating  schoolrooms,  77  ; return- 
ing from  school,  77  ; severity  of 
discipline,  79,  80 ; shouting  in 
study,  80;  “backing,”  81,  82; 
books  studied,  82-85  ; “ explain- 
ing,” 85,  86;  writing  exercises, 
87  ; studies  interrupted  by  teach- 
er’s guests  and  his  examinations, 
88,  89 ; playing  in  the  school, 
89;  irregular  attendance  of  pu- 
pils, 89,  90;  lack  of  classifica- 
tion, 90 ; no  genuine  intellectual 
work  done,  90 ; two  valuable  les- 
sons learned  at  school,  93 ; do 
not  teach  arithmetic,  104,  105 ; 
their  strength  and  weakness,  106, 
107. 

Screens  before  gates,  their  use,  21. 

Secret  sects,  145. 

Seers  or  “ bright-eyes,”  283,  284. 

Shan-tung  productions,  16 1,  162. 

Shops  in  villages,  goods  sold,  49, 
50;  headquarters  from  which  to 
radiate  to  fairs,  50 ; hard  lot  of 
clerks,  51,  52;  case  of  meat  seller, 
51,  52;  cheating  methods,  53. 

Sorghum,  161;  stripping  off  lower 
leaves,  166. 

Strolling  scholars,  107,  109. 

“ Style  ” of  individuals,  239,  240. 

Suicide,  punishment  for  inciting  to, 
322,  323. 

Superintendent  of  Instruction,  130, 

*3*- 

“ Surety  ” for  literary  candidates, 
115,  116. 

“ Surnames,  Book  of,”  84. 

Surnames,  the  four  common  ones, 

3«« 

T‘ai  Shan’s  historical  importance, 
141;  its  pilgrimages,  141,  142; 
“ Mountain  Societies,”  142. 

Taxes  on  “ empty  grain-tax  land,” 
329- 


Teacher’s  hard  lot  as  pictured  in  a 
play,  67,  68;  in  proverbs,  73; 
in  experience,  74 ; do  not  teach 
in  their  own  towns,  74,  75  ; their 
manner  of  life,  75  ; honourable 
position,  76, 78 ; unlimited  power, 
78;  relation  to  pupils,  78;  sub- 
stitute teachers,  89;  Western 
criticism  of,  102. 

Temples  to  be  used  as  school- 
houses,  135;  how  village  temples 
came  to  be  built,  136;  reasons 
for  their  absence  in  some  villages, 
1 37 ; two  gods  most  commonly 
honoured  with  temples,  137, 138; 
uses  made  of  building  fund  sur- 
plus, 1 38  ; resorts  of  thieves  and 
beggars,  1 39;  temple  expenses, 
139;  as  receptacles  of  coffins  and 
funeral  paraphernalia,  139;  dif- 
ferent deities  in  same  temple, 
140;  temple  tax  at  fairs,  149; 
lawsuits  over,  232. 

Theatre,  its  origin  in  China,  54; 
little  understood  by  foreigners, 
55  ; the  stage  and  its  equipment, 
55,  56;  the  theatre  an  invest- 
ment, 56,  57;  costumes,  57; 
classes  of  players,  58;  amateurs, 
58;  child  apprentices,  58,  59; 
plays  a public  benefit,  60,  65 ; 
occasions  for  giving  a play,  60, 
61 ; cost  of  presenting  it,  61 ; the 
“program  bearer,”  62;  trans- 
porting stage  properties,  62; 
preparations  for  a theatre,  62; 
used  as  a device  for  attracting 
customers  for  fairs,  62 ; impres- 
sion made  by  a play,  63 ; plays 
as  a social  factor,  63,  64 ; a drain 
upon  hosts,  64;  subjects  of  plays, 
66;  synopsis  of  one,  66-68;  the 
theatre  an  index  of  the  Chinese 
theory  of  life,  68,  69. 

Thieves’  action  at  theatres,  65 ; use 
temples  as  resorts,  139. 

“ Thousand  Character  Classic,”  84. 

Title  deeds  often  lost,  27. 


360 


INDEX 


Torture  as  a means  of  raising  tem- 
ple funds,  136. 

“Trimetrical  Classic”  quoted,  78; 
origin,  82;  epitomized,  82-84; 
its  allusions  often  not  understood, 
100. 

Village  hunt,  why  possible  in  pop- 
ulous China,  174;  the  bald  an- 
nunciator of  the  hare-hunt,  175, 
176;  the  hunt  described,  176; 
resulting  quarrels,  176-178. 

Villages,  number  of  in  India,  15; 
the  residence  of  most  Chinese, 
15  ; irregularly  laid  out,  21  ; how 
first  settled,  21 ; streets  and  alleys, 
21  ; overcrowding,  21  ; village 
walls  and  their  use,  29;  nearness 
of  one  to  another,  146,  147  ; each 
village  a principality,  226. 

“ Vinegar  sipping,”  300. 

Wages  of  farm  labourers,  247  ; of 
boys,  247. 

Washington  and  the  cherry  tree  in 
Chinese,  333-335. 

Weddings:  a “joyful  event,”  179; 
wedding  contributions,  179; 
bride’s  arrival  the  essence  of  the 
wedding,  180;  exposition  of  the 


“ share  ” principle,  1 80;  account- 
keeping at  weddings,  181 ; duties 
of  the  wedding  committee,  182; 
city  and  village  caterers,  182, 
183;  three  “wedding  commit- 
tees,” 183;  “borrowing”  pro- 
visions, 184;  opium  smoking 
stewards,  184;  poor  relatives  at 
weddings,  185;  “drawing 
friends,”  19 1 ; pranks  at,  251. 

Week,  unique  survival  of  the,  192. 

Wells,  manner  of  digging,  44,  45  ; 
driven  wells,  45 ; occasions  of 
feuds,  45  ; unpopular  people  for- 
bidden to  use,  45  ; Western  ideas 
needed  for  Chinese  well-diggers, 
46 ; how  a force  pump  was  re- 
fused by  a village,  46-48. 

Western  Learning  Edict,  134,  135. 

Wife  of  Tao-t‘ai  envying  a dog, 
262,  note. 

Woman  (See  Girls  and  women). 

Women  have  no  name,  241 ; terms 
used,  241. 

Writing  Chinese  very  difficult,  87, 

88. 

Yellow  River,  « China’s  Sorrow,” 

172,  X73- 


